The moult has started early this year

We have several girls moulting at the moment which seems very early. Smoke and Ebony started off with feathers drifting around the run and carotene patches on their heads.

Marmite has always had a little bare patch on the back of her head where the feathers have never grown in. It was slightly smaller than a five pence piece and can just be seen here. Her collar (necklace) feathers look loose.

Broody Marmite with a tiny bald patch

Smoke with carotene patches on her head

Ebony also has carotene on her head

The next thing was piles of Ebony’s feathers all around the run and under her roost spot. I am picking up loads of her feathers every day and as she moves the feathers waft down from her.

Ebony looks really tatty

Ebony is a mass of loose feathers

Ebony went from the first photo to the two above within a couple of days. I was holding a dandelion leaf above her to get this shot.

Then it started to look like Marmite was being plucked. This is something that I absolutely dread. We kept a close eye on the girls and it was a while before we saw it happening. When I was taking broody Marmite out of the run for a break Vanilla was pulling feathers from around her bald patch.

I think that with her black feathers and white skin it was such a contrast on her bald patch that it was attracting attention and adding to that the fact that in her broody state she was just siting in a trance. I was pretty upset about this as plucking is something I really dread.

Marmite is now bald on the back of her neck

From then on I sat Marmite on the log when I lifted her out of the nest box so that she is out of harms way until she is up and running and I also ordered some purple spray. The purple spray is antiseptic but more importantly it covers the white so it’s not so attractive to attention.

Next I started to see some of Speckles feathers in the run. She has lost feathers where her back meets her tail and I saw some feathers waft from her as she moved.

Speckles has just started to moult

Marmite with the purple spray

The purple spray covers the white patch nicely. It will also help me to see if it is continuing or has has stopped. I really hope this is just a blip and will quickly pass. Marmite has now come out of her broody spell after ten days.

Marmite in a dust bath

The bare patch is now nicely disguised and as you can see larger feathers are dropping into the run too.

Next I started seeing a few of Flame’s feathers in the run. I think that because Ebony didn’t moult last winter and has just been broody for a full four weeks this has kicked off her moult. Speckles started moulting last year in August after her second spate of laying a few more eggs. I expected her to lay six eggs this year which she has so maybe that has kick started her moult.

Flame was very late moulting last year and started in December which I thought was unusually late. Flame was only broody for a week so I am surprised that she would start moulting this early but she has already lost most of her tail feathers.

Flame is missing tail feathers

Seramas are supposed to moult a little all year round so nothing surprises me with them. I wasn’t expecting to be picking up so many feathers in June though. Toffee and Emerald used to moult in July but they had a very short laying season whereas Ebony laid all winter, last year, leading me to think she was a first year bird and Flame laid until the end of November and moulted in December leading me to think that she was a second year bird.

It will be interesting to see how the year progresses and how next year will compare. In one respect it does seem more sensible to moult in the summer rather than in the winter.  It is early for the egg supply of the bigger girls to come to a halt although it is what I was used to with my previous game girls.

It will be interesting to see if this is the end of eggs this year from Ebony and Flame or if they get through the moult and lay a few more. Only time will tell.

Update

This morning Flame has lost the rest of her tail feathers.

This morning Flame has lost the rest of her tail feathers

Oh well, all three bigger girls are definitely moulting.