One day, as I was taking my dust bath, Meko, Sally's pullet, came running up to me. "Hi Auntie Gertrude," she cackled breathlessly. "What's going on around here, everyone is so grumpy?!" I told her to stand back as I was still tossing.

Meko continued, "Auntie Gertrude, Mommy is very grouchy too, so I wanted to have a dust bath with you, is that ok?" I leaned closer to her, thinking the dust bath dizzies were messing with my brain. "Everyone is grouchy and grumpy!! I wonder why." Meko came over to me and grabbed my wing. "Let's go see," I said.

While I scuttled along the hen house run, my brain was fizzing away, hmmm! What could be happening to Sally, I wondered, she is such a good mother. Meko let go of my wing.

"Auntie Gertrude, why did you stop?" I held up my wing and pointed. "Meko, do you see that pullet over there?" Meko nodded. "Well, that pullet is my niece, Amelia. Do you want to share some scratch with her? "It looks good, I'll have a little bit too," I said. "Now, go on and play with Amelia for awhile, and I will try and sort everything out. I need to think for a little bit."

Meko took some of the scratch, "Thank you, Auntie Gertrude!"

I roosted on a stray log for short while. Then PJ waddled past, "Hi PJ," I said cheerfully. "

Back off!" PJ growled.

I was flabbergasted! PJ had never talked to me that way. This was one big grumpy case to crack!

Then I noticed a trail of feathers and followed it with my eyes. PJ was skirting the edges of the coop, leaving feathers in a loooong trail behind her. I pulled out my trusty spyglass. I walked closer to PJ. She was featherless in some spots! I examined the feathers with my spyglass. These feathers were thin. Not the kind of feathers I would like to have in winter. My brain started thinking, but not just thinking, I was cracking this case!

Hmmm,

A. Grumpiness...

B. Featherless...

C. Winter's coming...

This mystery was starting to make sense! I decided to go check on Meko and Amelia. "Auntie Gertrude!" they clucked happily.

I began, "I need you guys to come with me. I am going to talk to Dottie for awhile and I want you to warm up under the heat lamp, okay?" They nodded and followed me to the coop.

It was nice, warm, and cozy inside, but I needed to find Dottie. I checked the nest boxes, then I finally found her pecking at a hole in a feed and scratch sack.

"Hello Gertrude," she said, "what brings you by today? Here, have some scratch." Dottie clucked happily, as she ruffled her feathers. (I saw a couple of feathers fall.)

"Dottie," I said with a beakful of scratch, "I was wondering... since I haven't lost any feathers yet, why is everyone else so grumpy?"

Dottie answered, "Well, wouldn't you catch an awful cold without your feathers?" Suddenly, rattle, rattle, buzz, DING! That's it! I know what's going on!

Dottie, PJ, and Sally were molting! THAT is why they were grumpy, because they didn't feel so great. Dottie wasn't grumpy because she had just started to molt and the cold hadn't got to her yet. But she would be grumpy soon enough!

Chickens molt before winter, sometimes even during winter. Nobody knows why, but they might just be growing warmer feathers!

Any similarities to chickens currently living is intended and real! These gals all lived in our home coop in town until recently when they moved to a friend's coop due to a certain Mildred, a grumpy neighbor who apparently is molting ALL the time!