Winner Winner Chicken... oh, that's just wrong

I know, that title is wrong.  But this whole post is wrong.  I'm a big fan of Backyard Chickens.  And they had a contest this fall of who's hen had the ugliest molt this year.  And Coco had one UGLY molt.   It was like she exploded from the inside out.  It took 5 days for her to jettison out nearly every feather on her body.

Fortunately, I'm in California where the weather is mild and she did this in October before our weather turns really chilly.  But still, she looked miserable.  And I'd catch her shivering in the mornings.  I felt awful for her.  I so desperately wanted to scoop her up and wrap her in a blanket.  But chickens have molted like this for thousands of years.  And really, the best thing you can do for her is to just leave her be.  And offer up some high protein treats to help her grow out new feathers.

So out of over a hundred entries, Coco took the top prize.  My reward is that I've been made a Golden Feather member of BYC.  YEA.

And here's a current photo of my sweet Coco Bean taken this week.  She's hiding in the bushes because I had just picked her up which she does not like.  But I do like to pick up my hens once a month or so and give them a good once over to make sure they are healthy.

I don't dare tell anyone that I shared that awful photo of her molting.  She'd be horrified.

Six weeks into the molt

Today, marks six weeks since my sweet Coco started to molt.  She spent the first three weeks of her molt nearly naked.  And while those feathers came in so quickly, she still has a long ways to go.

She's fully covered and has a nice layer of down to keep her warm.  But she's still off her game.  So I picked her up tonight, which she so dislikes.  I just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing something obviously wrong with her.  And she's fine.  She's just covered in pin feathers.  It's like she's got a second wave of feathers coming in all over.

So I gave her some meal worms to show her how much I love her.  And she appreciated the gesture.  But she still watched me with a very cautious eye for the rest of the evening.  Just to be sure I didn't get close enough to touch her again.

I will say, of all the breed chickens I've had, a freshly molted Jersey Giant is the softest thing in the whole wide world.  I really wish she liked more attention than she does because it's so tough keeping my hands off of her.

Coco 3 weeks into her molt

Today is 3 weeks to the day that Coco started to molt.

As you can see by the photos below, she's once again fully covered and no longer has any bare skin showing.  Even her bottom has fluffy feathers covering her.

Those feathers still have a long way to grow out.  And you can can see the pin feathers on her head and back of her neck that she's not able to nibble on to open up.  But I'm SOOOOO happy that she's covered and no longer shivering.  Poor thing.  What a rough three weeks.

I did catch her covered in dust yesterday and I think that was her first dust bath in about 3- 4 weeks.  Which had to have felt so good.

And I LOVE the beautiful sheen on those new glossy black feathers.

Update on The Molt

Yesterday marked the two week mark since Coco started to molt.  In three days, she dropped nearly every feather on her body.  It's just brutal to watch a nearly naked chicken stager around the yard.  She was miserable and it showed.  She stopped talking and foraging.  And when she refused to eat treats out of my hands, I knew she felt just awful.

I set up a heat lamp in her run when I caught her shivering.  I put it on a timer to come on first thing in the morning and go off around 10am.  By that time, the sun has been up on their run for a while and the temperature is usually up above 65.  I also have it come on again in the evenings to keep her warm until she goes to bed. 

Coco was going to bed a good half hour before the other hens.  Which further told me she was cold and didn't feel well.  And in the mornings, she got up nearly an hour after the other hens.  I think she would have stayed in the coop even longer.  But she knew when she heard my voice, that meant I had come out with warm mash so she'd usually pop right out.

But this morning, I heard her out in the run talking long before I got outside.  All good signs that she's come out the backside of this year's ugly molt.

I figure she needs another two weeks before she's all covered and gorgeous once again.  But I'll take what she's got today because it's supposed to be cold and raining for the next two days.

I so dislike molting season

I really dislike molting season.  Mostly because of the way Coco molts.  Coco does the "Ugly Molt" meaning she sheds so many feathers, you can see bare skin covered in rows and rows of pin feathers. And she looks MISERABLE!!!  I mean, who wouldn't.  This year has been her worst molt yet.

She started molting on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.  The coop and run were covered with her beautiful black feathers.  By Saturday, she looked like the two photos below, bare back and sides.

Thursday, a week after she started to molt, she lost nearly every feather on her.  She's got a few new long wing feathers which she's using to try and keep her sides covered.

She also had a pin feather pulled out.  I don't know if she did it or if one of the other hens did it.  I have caught them pecking at her.  Probably out of curiosity to see what those pin feather things all over her are.  Anyway, that wound looks like it really smarts. I've been trying to put Vet RX and Neosporin on it but she wants nothing to do with me so I have to sneak out to the coop at night to treat her.

I did catch her shivering a few times so I've put a heat lamp out in the run for her.  She doesn't want to stand under it.  But if I put treats under it, she has to stand under it to eat which warms up her just a touch. 

I've closed up every window on the coop to try and keep it as warm as possible in there at night.  And it's surprisingly warm in there.  I'm sure the Buff Orpingtons don't appreciate it but I'm hoping it's temporary.

Below is what my beautiful Coco will look like in just a few short weeks.  I can't fast forward fast enough to get her at least covered in feathers.