Girls Gone Wild

I've completely lost control of my flock.

Ginger started molting about a month ago and is still molting.  She'll probably still be molting next March as she's doing it one feather at a time.  If it wasn't for the bucket of feathers I've collected, you'd never know by looking at her.  And I thought she was a grumpy hen before she started molting.  OMG.  She pouts.  She won't let me pick her up.  She's just in a bad mood so I leave her alone to hide under the house.

And as I suspected, Coco quickly followed.  Both Ginger and Coco are 20 months old.  Chickens typically go through their first big molt at around 18 months.  So we're just a tad off.  And they each did a mini molt last winter which probably explains the slight delay.  I'm just so thankful that they are doing it during these warm summer months.  Coco did an "ugly" molt last winter.  And by ugly molt, I mean she lost nearly all of feathers at once and had a bald patches before the new feathers came in. 

Coco during her "ugly" molt last winter.  Her bum and her legs are nearly bare.

Honey has gone broody AGAIN.  I tried to block her access to the nests which is what worked so well before.  But Spice doesn't seem to want to go lay in the big girls house.  Meaning she has no nest if I block them off.  So I give up.  I'm going to just let Honey be broody.  Because when I picked up Spice yesterday for a cuddle, I couldn't help but notice that she's plucked out all her breast and tummy feathers.  Yep, she's about to go broody too.

So now I'm not getting any eggs.  Which is disappointing.  But then, I can't eat them, so what difference does it make.  I am having fun blowing them out and decorating them.  But I blew out too many yesterday and today my jaw is really sore.  ACK!!!  It's always something, isn't it.

Would love to hear from those who have let a broody raise young.  I would let her sit on fake eggs and then tuck live, sexed, vaccinated chicks under her rather than let her hatch eggs.  I can't have roosters, don't want to ever experience Mareks, and really just want to eliminate as much drama as possible.

I think my BIGGEST worry is Ginger.  She was bullied by my EE her first year of life and she's never gotten over that.  She still pecks at Honey and Spice despite the fact they are nearly twice her size.  But she won't peck at their face.  She goes for their backs or lower neck.  Integrating them w/ her was BRUTAL.

If I let Honey raise young, would she defend them from Ginger?