I am picking up loads of feathers from the shed and the run at the moment. Butterscotch is dropping so many feathers that as usual I would be surprised if she starts laying again and yet I have thought that before and she did resume laying. This time though I am finding tail feathers as well as the usual fluffy ones.
Emerald has slowed down but Toffee is still dropping feathers. Over the last few days Speckles has started dropping feathers too. Looking back at last year it was at the end of July that Speckles and Butterscotch joined the flock and Speckles was moulting. She hasn’t laid now for over a week and this explains why. I think eggs may be coming to an end. In the last ten days only Peaches and Barley have been laying.
Peaches and Barley dust bathing together
As usual these two girls are together. They are losing an odd feather but are not moulting properly yet.
Speckles watches them from the wooden block
I am picking up Speckles distinct feathers with their white spot at the tips but she doesn’t look any different at the moment.
Emerald is looking good
I am still finding an odd feather from Emerald but she looks pretty much back to normal.
Toffee is having a dust bath
Toffee is still losing some feathers and looks a little scruffy round the neck.
Butterscotch as usual has pin feathers on her head and neck
Butterscotch has been at this stage so many times now. She has pins on her head and neck but so far every month just as they come back in she goes broody again and loses them once more.
She was just stretching out her leg in the photo above and so is showing the underside of her foot. I have no idea if she will start laying again or not and if she will get her head feathers and keep them or not.
I would miss her eggs if she stops laying but it would be great if she got her head feathers back and kept them this time. Butterscotch is a mystery with her pattern of moulting. She has been moulting in bursts like this for a year now and it seems like an awful long time since she had head feathers.
Updates on the updates
I had this post almost ready to go when we visited White House farm and I felt that post needed to take priority. In the two days since I started this post Butterscotch has dropped almost all her tail feathers and the pins on her neck have grown. I felt the need to add to a couple more photos of her.
Butterscotch has lost most of her tail feathers
Butterscotch’s pins are growing
It’s been a week since she stopped sitting in the nest box so it will be interesting to see if she starts laying again or if she continues to moult. It would be so good if her head feathers came back properly. Watch this space.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
My two BO’s haven’t laid in two weeks. So I’m thinking they are getting ready to molt too. I’ve heard from others around me that their hens too are molting early this year. But so far, no feathers in the run. So I’m not sure what is going on w/ them.
Your girls look so pretty w/ their new feathers. I do love that look all glossy and stunning.
It does seem early this year. I can’t believe there will be no eggs soon. Down to two girls out of six laying now. Every egg is so precious now.
is a pitty that Butterscotch do not grow all thoes head feathers that make her look like a duck, she looked so cute. But at least she is a happy girl, and that is the main thing.
Her pin feathers are long now so I am hopeful that they will open into proper feathers soon. We now only have Peaches and Barley laying and not that often so I have decided that if and when Butterscotch goes broody again I will shut her out of the nest boxes and break her from it quickly. I hope this will then give her feathers time to come in properly and not moult out again. Maybe this time she will finally get properly feathered at last, fingers crosses.
I meant fingers crossed! Saw the s just as pressed post comment.
Butterscotch looks as if she is in a real moult this time – and she’ll emerge truly resplendent, I’m sure. The difference in Speckles’ comb is amazing, one week after her last egg. I am picking up white silkie feathers mainly, although a couple of mine have started to moult, but it seems like a gentle process at the moment. Another 3 broody today so egg production, which is very up and down, is likely to slump further. With a bit of luck, my first pullets should lay late October/early November and the younger ones (1 light sussex, 1 goldtop and 2 cross-breeds from our own eggs before sending the cocks to Skegness!) by the end of the year so, hopefully, we should not be too long without eggs.
Butterscotch does seem to be more in the swing of a proper moult but her head pins are coming on a treat and she is looking as if she may start laying again by today’s behaviour, post just going out now.
Unlike you, we won’t have any eggs this winter which will be a bit of a shock to the system but is balanced by a calmness within the flock which is good to see. It will be interesting to compare your goldtop as she progresses.