# French molt



## CassandraC (May 4, 2015)

So long story short I took in a clutch of older chicks to raise (first photo at arrival) fast forward a week and ones lost pretty much all flights and it's tail (second picture) the other chicks aren't showing symptoms of French molt.. They have not had contact with my flock and I always wash my hands prior to handling them. The breeder has bred his pair before and never come across this issue. They couldn't have caught it here right?


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

Do you have any birds with French moult in your current flock?
Even if you have any, if strict quarantine rules were applied (when it comes to sanitizing yourself, changing clothes when dealing with the chicks after taking care of your flock, cleaning cages, nests and keeping everything neat and in order) then the chances of the chicks developing French moult would have been very slim if not non-existent.

If none of your birds are carriers nor show visible signs of French moult, then it's likely the parents of these chicks are carriers of the virus. 
You will have to be extra careful now even for the safety of your own flock especially if you have breeding pairs at the moment with chicks or eggs in the process of being incubated, the quarantine procedures should be followed strictly in order to prevent the spread of the virus.


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## CassandraC (May 4, 2015)

Yes I do have two with fm but they were taken to my mother's prior to bringing these birds here as a precaution and neither myself or the chicks have been near the area they were kept. I have had no contact with my own flock since they arrived as my 16yo had taken over for me for some pocket money (all birds are on break so he just feeds and changes paper) so it's just been me and the chicks plus a recently weaned alexandrine


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## CaptainHowdy (Feb 9, 2010)

Firstly are you certain its french moult.
It could be down to stress or from dehydration.
You wont really know till the chick grows up a bit more.

I have had french moult birds and with a bit of adaptations they lived in my aviary wity the rest of the flock. They were kept completely separate from any breeding birds and chicks under 8 weeks. I normally left the chicks to get to 10-12 weeks before moving into the aviary. I havnt had any more french moulters in ny flock since.
I know some breeders keep one or two in their flocks as they believe it increases the flocks resistant to it.


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