Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Do These Feathers Make Me Look Fat?

My Ameraucana, Matilda, hasn’t laid an egg in over a week and she’s not broody. I was beginning to get worried, fearing she might be egg bound (even though she isn't showing any of the signs), when I noticed that her tail feathers are gone and that there are numerous feathers on the ground of the coop. Is there some aggression going on that I don't know about? I haven't witnessed any, and she doesn't seem to be fearful of the other hens. She is skittish though and won't let me touch her—Tilly is the one I can always count on to let me pick her up—and she's not "taking the position" or squatting when I approach her.

Seems my beautiful girl has begun her first molt. Chickens molt once a year and, unfortunately, most stop laying until the molt is almost complete. Winter doesn’t seem like a very good time to shed your feathers to me, but I trust the natural order of things. I will certainly miss her lovely blue eggs for the next 6 weeks or so.

I'll post more pictures as she goes through the process.

You can clearly see her missing tail feathers in comparison to the others girls

3 comments:

  1. She is beautiful! I hate it when they molt and egg production goes down.

    Marisa
    (from backyardfarming.blogspot.com)

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  2. Nope, just a natural molting process. She will replace all her feathers by the time it's done.

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