For the new folks that haven't experienced a molt yet.

[TUBOLA]

Is there any remedy or danger to molting? should i do anything special for them?

 

[JessHeller]

So glad I saw this thread. I'm scared now

None of my flock show signs of this yet; they are 6 months old and fianlly all laying consistently. I'll have to do some reading. Thanks for all the good info!!

 

[IHC986]

Very good post for me to read and see. I'm a newby to chickens and daddy to twenty red sex links. I've had them since spring and I think they are a blast! We are truly BUDDIES.

 

[aart]

Is there any remedy or danger to molting? should i do anything special for them?

If you read even the first few pages of this thread, most your questions should be answered.

 

[mom98312]

that is priceless.. she'll hate you when you show that to her boyfriend..

 

[TUBOLA]

there are 300 and some postings lol, i need to work for a living as well, so it will take me forever to read all of them, but i will do my best.

 

[MyPaperMoon512]

I have 2 chickens, 1 of which is molting big time. She doesn't look quite as scraggly, but she's lost so many feathers I thought something had gotten one of them. She's lost most of her tail feathers, and underneath the top feathers on her back there are rows and rows of little feathers coming in. No wonder she squawked when I tried to pick her up a few weeks ago. I imagine it's pretty painful. Every day I take the egg the other hen lays and scramble it up for them to eat, hoping the extra protein will help. They are both a little of 2 years old and this is the first time one has molted this bad. The other still has all her feathers intact. My first clue was when she stopped laying. Of course, when that happens, I immediately think the worst and hope she isn't egg-bound, because I'm not prepared to deal with that. But then the feathers started coming out big-time, so I relaxed a little.

 

[greenlydia]

ALL of my girls are going through a hard molt this year.........poor things are practically naked! I really am seriously considering gathering up all the feathers and making a pillow, but the mere thought of picking up 5 billion feathers makes my back hurt!

If this is your first experience with a molt, I can empathize with your horror! 30 years ago when I began raising chickens and they molted, I grabbed up one of my girls and ran next door to an ancient famer.......I was in tears and begged him to tell me what was wrong with my hens.......were they sick? Were they all going to die? Were they in pain? I was a total wreck. After he stopped laughing and poured me a glass of his homemade mystery wine to "calm my city nerves," he explained what was "wrong" with my chickens. If I remember correctly, he told me that hens were like all women and just liked new clothes!

Don't worry, your girls feathers will come in before it gets cold and they'll be strutting around in their new "outfits" like fashion queens.

You will probably come to enjoy the molt for the laughs it can provide. Some of the girls look REALLY silly with a feather sticking out here and there.........they look like alien creatures!

 

[MyPaperMoon512]

I'm experiencing my first hard molt, but it's a natural process, and all chickens do it to some extent. It's like strands of your hair coming out and being replaced by new ones. Same thing with feathers. I have been giving my girls extra protein, which should help. The girl at the feed store said to give them chick starter, because it has more protein, but I haven't decided to do that. You might check with the people where you get your feed. The lady who owns the feed store I shop at has chickens, and she's quite knowledgeable. I also connected with some local people on facebook, and they help me out, also, with questions.

If I can answer any more questions, please let me know. I will do my best.

 

[greenlydia]

There is no "remedy" and no need of one. Molting is a natural process and if you're going to raise chickens, you're going to go through a lot of molts! The best thing you can do for them is not let them see you laughing at how silly they look. They have feelings, too. ya know! (How would YOU feel if most of your clothes suddenly fell off?)