Ugly Chicken, Drunk Chicken, Molting Chicken, Naked Chicken

So, my girls are awful looking right now.  They look like they are diseased, and have been beaten with an ugly stick!  Last year, my girls weren't quite adults yet when fall approached, and we did have one chicken that went through a molting cycle, but it wasn't bad, and I honestly was not prepared for this year.

Having 13 adult hens is like having 13 daughters PMSing AT THE SAME TIME... and it can last up to 6 WEEKS!!!  Let me tell you, I have learned a lot about the molting process these last couple weeks, and every chicken handles molting differently.

Drunk.
I have had a couple chickens walk around the back yard and just fall over... they stumble around, and their legs cross over each other, and sometimes they just lay down.  When I first saw this, I was really taken back, I was so worried that they were sick and that they were going to infect the rest of the hens.  Well, after some research, I was able to calm down a little bit.  It appears that chickens need their tail feathers for balance, and when they lose them, they also lose their balance, and can appear intoxicated.  I really did feel bad for them, but it was pretty entertaining to watch!

Ugly and Naked!
These girls seriously look ridiculous, I mean, if you wanted to eat one right now, you would have to do much plucking!!  I never imagined that they could look like this.  They lose the feathers on their heads first and then down to their butts... naked chicken butts is actually really funny too.  I've learned that while their new feathers grow in, it can be pretty painful for them.  They actually run from us right now, and they have never done that before. 

Shes a hot mess!!

Unproductive and Hungry.
So, here is the kicker... while they molt, they don't lay eggs due to the fact that their body uses up so much protein to make new feathers that it doesn't have any left over make an egg.  So, what we have done to help this (and its actually helping) is that I supplement them with high protein foods.  I had some old ground deer in the freezer, so I have been cooking that up with some lentils and it has helped out quite a bit.  Before all this silliness, we were getting about 12 eggs a day, and it went down to 2 a day, and sometimes none at all... now, with the extra feedings, we have managed about 2-4 eggs a day which is better then 0-2... but goodness gracious!!  These ladies are not earning their keep!!

We have decided that we just need to give them their space, give them lots of yummy treats and I have to lean out their coop and covered run almost every other day.  With the lack of feathers and the wind and rain, we also put up the heat lamp for them to hopefully give them some comfort.  I feel bad for them, and I have also learned a lesson... next year, I will be stock piling my summer eggs!!



Closed outdoor run that was cleaned yesterday



Who needs neck feathers?