Dotty, Amber and Honey have all had piles of feathers falling from them and have now regrown their feathers and are looking really good. Bluebell seems to be moulting one feather at a time, she never looks much different apart from some tatty tail feathers. Pepper seems to have moulted in two halves. She lost lots of feathers and felt prickly with pin feathers underneath her, then silky soft as they came through but didn’t lose her tail like Dotty, Honey and Amber.
This last week though there have been piles of domonique feathers in the coop again every morning and I am constantly picking them up from the run. Pepper now looks really tatty around her back and tail.
Pepper also stopped laying two weeks ago. Dotty stopped laying two months ago and the bantys stopped laying three months ago. Bluebell is laying an average of five eggs a week and is keeping us in eggs for breakfast at the weekends and one mid week breakfast every other week. When I look in the fridge and see six blue eggs I realize that without Bluebell we wouldn’t be getting any eggs at the moment.
The good news is that two weeks ago I said that I thought Dotty and Amber were getting their necks plucked again as they both had a v shape of under feathers below where they were plucked before but Honey had all her neck feathers. Now I have noticed that both Dotty and Amber’s neck feathers have filled in. I was wrong, they weren’t being pulled out after all, they had just not regrown from moulting. This is really good news and I am hoping they will stay fully feathered as they look so lovely at the moment.
Pepper also has pin feathers on her bottom again so maybe they will all be fully feathered soon.
The other change that has taken place is that Honeys feathers have come back with the traditional vorwerk colouring of plain black and gold (minus the peacock like spots she had on her back before the moult) but Ambers feathers have come back with black speckles on her back and her breast. I think this is really pretty and the bonus is that it’s much easier to tell them apart now. Amber has remained smaller (but feistier) than Honey but my husband couldn’t tell them apart. Now I think he can although he still confuses their names!
Pepper now has an extremely tatty tail, what is left of it!
Poor Pepper looks a sorry sight
Dotty on the right of this photo is looking good now
Bluebell has some tatty tail feathers
Amber’s neck feathers have grown back in
Dotty’s neck feathers have grown back in
Amber now has black speckles on her back and breast
Honey has a plain gold back and breast
Amber is newly speckled
Honey is plain gold and black which is the usual vorwerk colouring
I am loving seeing the girls getting their beautiful feathers back again and think they all look so adorable. I really hope this time they stay feathered.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
Looks like the banty’s have finally integrated in w/ the big girls? I hope that is the case.
The bantys have totally integrated now. They are one flock and I can’t imagine the little girls not being a part of that flock. Having said that Bluebell still gives them a swift peck whenever they pass her, especially Amber. They don’t seem at all worried though and just take it in their stride (small quick strides that they have!).
If the big girls are on the big perch the little girls are always quick to join them.
That is great news ..and great photos as usual . Ambers back has changed totally which is so pretty .You would have thought they would haver had the same colour as before wouldn’t you?
I must admit that the lovely Bluebell is my favourite .She is a stunner .
I am so relieved that for now anyway, it seems like they have stopped pulling feathers.
I have read on other blogs of hens changing after the moult usually having either more or less speckles than before. I haven’t seen as big a change as this though. I love it, I think it makes Amber look really pretty and it also makes it easy to tell them apart. They are no longer my little Tweedlee Dee and Tweedle Dum!