Re: When do your hens moult?

Jill wrote:


Moult can happen with stress as well - especially a neck moult
Some birds going through their annual moult barely show any signs except they are suddenly smart and glossy again. Others will shed the lot, look like you should put them in the over and then all the new feathers grow at once!!!
Redness usually suggests something untoward is happening

I didn't know that so will keep it in mind. I have had hens sunburnt on the back after the roosters have damaged the back feathers in summer.

Its not other birds that are the only threat to free range flocks for mites etc
Its the wild bird population

Yes I can see that could be a problem and a fully enclosed yard would lessen this - something I am still aiming for. Are migratory birds more of a problem than local populations for this?

Your weather may well have a lot to do with it
HEre we are plagued with midges which were evil in the early spring -- around far earlier than normal but have been noticable by their absence for the rest of the summer
Some places have had terrible fluke, tick, and lice problems in stock


Wow I am so lucky. We get ticks in the bush and sometimes on us but I've never had them on the hens. Lice can be a real problem to get rid of but I've only ever had them when I inadvertently introduced them on new birds. Now I treat everything on entry and isolate for a while. Not hard when you only have a few to deal with. :-)
It is too dry here for fluke although further south it can be a problem. I try to worm at the beginning of summer to control internal parasites in general. BTW is a midge a tiny little flying insect that rises in clouds, bites really bad and likes damp areas?

Ginny
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