I am still picking up lots of feathers. As well as Peaches and Barley’s feathers I am also picking up little girl’s feathers. Pebbles is moulting and I am picking up her fluffy grey feathers. She doesn’t look any different though apart from her head. Her head is a mass of pins and she reminds me of a porcupine.
Freckles is losing her baby feathers and growing in her adult feathers. I am picking up her white feathers but she doesn’t look any different. Rusty isn’t losing feathers yet as she is still growing some of her baby feathers. Her head feathers have filled in since we have had her.
Pebbles quills being white don’t really show up on a photograph but what look like white feathers on her head are actually white pins, she has a spiky head at the moment.
Pebbles has pins on her head
I got distracted from my, moulting, photos by the cuteness of the three little girls.
Three headless little girls
Pebbles has a habit of standing in the food bowl
This is typical of Pebbles.
Peaches has no tail and loads of pins
Barley
Peaches
Barley
Speckles in the background is looking really good.
Peaches
Barley and Peaches
The good thing is that despite looking a mess right now, all these pins mean they will soon be feathered up again. They will soon have lovely feathers to keep them warm in the winter and be back to looking beautiful again.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
It is good to see the pin feathers on Peaches and Barley; they are perhaps at their messiest at the moment – I have a few like them, as well as youngsters getting in their final adult feathers. Pebbles looks lovely – funny how they moult in different ways, at different speeds. Cotton has only ever moulted when coming out of a period of broodiness or raising chicks; this time, though, she has lost neck feathers, noticeably, but the pins are there and are starting to open. At the moment, they look yellowish, so I’m hoping she re-gains her normal white hue as they open. Hardly any eggs – only 2 laying (and 2 broody silkies, of course!)
I can’t remember Peaches and Barley being quite so messy as this before but there again they were laying for a month longer this year so I think that has made their moult progress more quickly. It is good to see the pins quite advanced though as it means the whole process should be quicker. They have a real loss of confidence at the moment which always seems to happen during a heavy moult.
It is funny how Pebbles has a mass of pins around her head and yet the rest of her looks no different. The feathers must have been through when the old ones dropped out.
It seems that broody girls have a different pattern of moulting and as you say it’s funny how all the girls moult differently.
I am sure Cotton will return to her normal colour when the feathers open.
I envy you still having a couple of girls laying. I can’t wait to see the little girl’s eggs but on the other hand Rusty is so cute with her chickness. I have just made up a new word but I don’t know how else to describe it. She has sudden bursts of speed and runs everywhere and is so curious and so friendly. She follows my hands and feet and pecks at my flip flops, although today for the first time I wore boots. She is so adorable that I almost want to keep her at this stage but it will be interesting to see if she is still as tame when fully grown. I have to be ultra careful about where I tread as Rusty and Freckles are always under my feet. They have no fear of my feet or my size compared to them which is so endearing.
Oh, I hate the molt. My sweet Coco is nearly naked. I’ll have to get photos to post. Poor thing.
I remember how awful poor Coco looks every year. She will soon be beautiful again though. I have been looking out for an update from you.
It will not be long before they will all be back to normal, I must say those little girls are so sweet.
With the amount of long pins they have I know it won’t be long. The little girls are beyond sweet. I know I am biased but I can’t stop taking photos because they are just so cute. Rusty is especially really cute.
Yes please Flockmistress your blog has been really missed – we all want to know how the babies are settling in!
Sophie x
Both me and Sophie have been waiting for your update. We need to know how your Babies are doing. We were worried when there wasn’t an update and just want to know how you are getting on. I am sure everything is just fine but we all like to see how it’s going.