![\"Pepper](\"http:\/\/www.carolschickens.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/pepper_looking_quite_sad.jpg\")
<\/a>Pepper looking quite sad<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Dotty’s comb and wattles are a nice red colour<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Pepper’s face and comb are very pale compared to Dotty<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Bluebell’s comb has remained red throughout the winter<\/p><\/div>\n
A few days ago at first light I found Bluebell’s blue egg next to her last tatty tail feather in the nest box. At last her ragged tail feather had dropped out.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Honey and Amber eating some warm mash<\/p><\/div>\n
Honey is in the foreground and her comb is more red than Ambers. Another change I have noticed is that Honey’s feathers have changed again since the moult and what I call her peacock spots have returned to her back near her tail. These are dark spots surrounded by a pale ring. They disappeared after her moult but have gradually returned. She now has more spots on her back too but not as many as Amber.<\/p>\n
It will be good to see Pepper finish her moult and get back to her happy self again. If hers lasts as long as Dotty’s it should be just another two weeks. I hadn’t expected the moult to be as late as this but I have been reading of other peoples girls going through the same so it seems it isn’t unusual. I think we are all looking forward to the spring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
During the moult and the subsequent withdrawal of egg laying, the girl’s combs were very pale. The bantys were the first to start their moult and stopped laying four months ago. Dotty was next and stopped laying for two months. … Continue reading