An update on the flock’s moult

I don’t usually touch too much on personal stuff or work stuff but it has been so mega busy that I just haven’t had time to blog and have left a longer gap than usual. This does frustrate me a little.

We had three functions last weekend plus a busy week peaking with an afternoon tea for one hundred and sixty on Thursday on our vintage crockery. This meant a lot of washing up the following day amongst the usual work load.

During this busy spell we have my ninety five year old mother in law staying with us for a couple of weeks and to cap it all our bathroom sprung a leak. It is our guest bathroom, downstairs and had a fitted bath. To get to the leak the bath had to be cut free and once the leak was fixed the bath has had to remain in the middle of the room to allow the plaster behind it to dry out. The bath will be fixed back in place next week.

The one bit of luck was that our lovely next door neighbour is a plumber and was able to come to our rescue straight away.

I just thought I would explain my lack of blogging and am in fact writing this now while my lovely husband and mother in law watch the rugby. I have little interest in contact sports I have to admit and am glad of the chance to catch up.

And so, back to the chooks. This is the first year that I have had eight girls moulting at once and I am picking up loads of feathers every day. Last year I had eight girls but it was Peaches and Barley’s first winter so they didn’t moult.

Topaz is looking a bit scruffy now

Topaz is missing some neck and tail feathers

Topaz despite being top girl does seem to have become a bit more subdued than usual while moulting. It does seem to knock the girl’s confidence.

Honey is missing neck feathers and has only one tail feather remaining

Poor Honey

Honey is the last to start her moult. She only started a couple of days ago but it has been a very quick dropping of feathers with her neck bare and one remaining tail feather in just a few days. Honey laid one last egg two weeks ago after not laying for two weeks before that. Oddly enough since starting her moult she has actually perked up back to her former self despite looking a bit sad.

Toffee is looking good

Every photo I took today of Toffee she had one or other foot raised

I didn’t manage to catch Emerald looking at me in any of today’s photos

Emerald feathers shimmer

Butterscotch still looks good

Butterscotch is still fluffy front and back

Butterscotch has been moulting for three weeks now and I am picking up loads of her feathers. Despite this she doesn’t actually look any different. She has also laid nine eggs in the last twelve days since resuming laying after a broody spell. She didn’t lay today but before that laid five days in a row. She is amazing! I am now not sure if this a full or partial moult. I am confused by the fact that despite picking up loads of her feathers she doesn’t look any different and continues to lay so well. Time will tell but I am amazed by her.

Barley is now looking scruffy

Peaches tail has grown back in

Peaches and Barley as synchronised as ever but note their different tails at the moment

Barley and Peaches have changed places with their moult. Barley has now lost most of her tail while Peaches has grown hers back in. Both of their combs have got smaller and paler.

Speckles

Speckles

Speckles has grown her tail back but still has the feathers sticking up from her head just as they were when she first came to us. Speckles has been moulting for two months now and apart from losing her tail within days of coming to us she hasn’t looked much different despite me still picking up some of her feathers every day. I think she does has more white spots than she did before moulting.

I want to update my “Meet the flock” and “History of the flock” but Speckles lost her tail within days of being with us and I have been waiting for it to grow back so that I can get a good “true” photo of her first. I will do this soon and am going to start a second “History of the flock” as it is getting rather long.

These are posts in the pipeline but for now I have at last caught up with the girl’s current state of moulting and despite some of them looking a bit shabby all is well and Butterscotch continues to supply us with enough eggs for breakfast at the weekend.