Moulting

[9pollock]

Can I please get some advise on this as I am really concerned.
As I am new to the chicken thing is it correct that when they moult that there full breast would become bald. I lifted my Isa brown the other day and noticed that she was feather free on the breast and I am concerned that due to the cold weather she will be miserably cold.
She is still laying and eager for food etc.

[Glutton4...]

Don't worry, it's perfectly normal - if you're a Chook. It's only bizarre to the rest of us!

[Two_Sheds]

This is why people knit jumpers for chickens. Really

[kathyd]

My birds vary in how they moult - some lose a few feathers on a regular basis and never go really bald, and others end up looking like a supermarket oven ready bird almost overnight. As long as your birds have somewhere to shelter from the weather, they'll be fine. I sometimes find they have a 'personality' change while they're moulting too - even the bossy ones go very withdrawn and often separate themselves a bit from the others. I give mine a bit of extra protein while they're moulting - dried mealworms are a favourite, and I think some people give a bit of cat food or some tinned tuna, or a hard boiled egg mashed up. But don't overdo it and make them ill, just a bit! I believe it helps the feathers to regrow.

Some birds also lose breast feathers when they go broody apparently, although it seems a bit early in the year for that.

[Scarlet]

It's a funny time of the year to moult especially if she is still laying and usually chickens stop laying during that time. Have you seen a lot of feathers around the floor? If they go broody they often pull feathers from their breast area but it's much to early for a chicken to go broody. Have you checked her for lice? Or maybe you have a feather pecker?

[Two_Sheds]

I have parrots, not hens. They are notorious for feather-plucking when they are bored, or the air is too dry.
My Grey pulls out any feathers that are irritating her, ie new ones coming through that get bent or broken. Could it be that?