This poor turkey hen looks so uncomfortable to me. She is avoiding her bird family, looking a bit lethargic and her feathers are all falling out. Is she sick?
No, this little lady is molting. Molting means that she is losing her old feathers to replace them with new, healthy feathers to keep her warm and dry over the winter. Male and female birds molt. Sometimes they only lose a couple feathers and sometimes it can be so many the poor bird looks almost naked. When you look at the picture above, you can see the new quills growing that will be part of her feathers. Right now they look like white points.
I don't know for certain if birds feel bad while molting but I notice many of the birds hide and keep to themselves. Maybe they know they look silly.
Many things related to birds are influenced by the seasons and the amount of light. Birds usually molt when the days begin to shorten and there is less daylight. Nature is planning for winter!
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