Oh dear. It looks like our second-tier chickens – the second batch of three we bought – may be starting to moult. That means loose feathers, cold bottoms and, probably, a decline in the number of eggs laid.
That’s a shame, really, as our three most recent hens (numbers seven, eight and nine) are only just starting to lay and getting over the pullet phase when their eggs are too small to eat less than two at a time. Having three of our most reliable layers out of action before the new girls are fully up to speed isn’t ideal.
There is a definite looseness to the feathers on their undercarriages, though, and when we picked up Gabby and turned her upside down yesterday evening you could see her skin among the spiky ends of her feather roots.
Still, it could be worse. Our first three moulted around February time. That must have been very unpleasant indeed.
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