Monday, February 22, 2010

Molting

Just when I thought the chickens were done molting, I see feathers, everywhere. They were barred black and white, and at first I thought it was our little Dominique hen, Kendra, who went through a rather tough molt a couple months ago, until I got a good look at our Barred Plymouth Rock, Tara, and saw that she looked quite haggard.

If you’ve never seen a bird go through a molt, it can be quite terrifying. Feathers drop wherever they walk and suddenly the coop looks like the floor of a chicken processing plant. Our Tara already had a light molt in the fall, but I noticed Dawn, the Delaware, had gone through two molts, first on the front half of her body, and a second on the back half, so a double molting season was a possibility. But I wasn’t expecting it to be so severe, as she has nearly lost all of her feathers on the underside of her body. Yes, Tara currently looks like a stripper at the end of the routine, all tattered with exposed breasts and bottom.


So how is one to help their chickens out during this rather stressful period? Well, first you have to realize that hair and feathers are protein based, so it takes protein to grow. Anyone who has been on a high-protein diet can attest to their hair growing faster than usual, and the same concept works for animals. I could find a good meat source to feed her, or at least a higher protein diet to get her through this molt. Hmmm… maybe I could trap squirrels and let her munch on them? We do have a serious squirrel infestation and this would solve both dilemmas at once.

Maybe I should not worry about it, as the other girls were just fine without a different diet. Of course, I was planning on taking advantage of our nice daytime weather to work the rest of the usable compost into the ground where we plan on putting the three sisters, corn, beans and squash, and let her eat up all the worms and bugs who’ve been busy working that compost. Yes, I think that last idea of mine will work out. Of course, I do have some leftover barbecued chicken in the fridge that may go bad and could always feed that to her…

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