How long do white leghorns molt?

[Flame80]

About 2 weeks ago my white leghorns started moulting and out of nine birds I am lucky if I get one egg a day! I went 4 days straight with NO EGGS!! Bad timing right here before Thanksgiving. How long will this go on? They didnt molt last year. These birds might be 3 years old now. My 2 domonique slowed way down on laying but have NOT lost feathers. I must admit all this activity started right after we had our first frost. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Most breeds of chickens do not molt their first autumn and continue to lay right up to their second autumn when they take a much needed break. All first time chicken keepers are in shock when struck with their first dearth of eggs. So in the future, start hoarding eggs in august to keep for that scarcity to make it less necessary to go to the grocery store for eggs. They will molt and cease laying every autumn. Every bird is different in how long they take to regrow new feathers and resume laying. Sometimes it is two or three months, sometimes all winter.
Some people will get a few pullets each spring so when older birds take their annual break, the new ones will just begin laying.
Each year, a bird's winter production break is longer than the last.
Feathers don't last forever. They get broken and worn, no longer protecting the bird. All birds molt, usually annually. Primarily, this is keyed by day length. As days shorten, that is a signal winter is coming and a new winter coat is needed. They can't grow a new winter coat and produce eggs at the same time. It is a rare bird that can lay ANY eggs while growing new feathers. There are other things at play but in a nutshell, it just takes too much protein to grow a new winter coat and that is what is needed for ovulation.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you'll need to hit a grocery or farmer's market for the eggs for your pies.

 

[Flame80]

Thank you so much for the advise! Everyone have a great Thanksgiving!!!

 

[Portia07]

Most breeds of chickens do not molt their first autumn and continue to lay right up to their second autumn when they take a much needed break. All first time chicken keepers are in shock when struck with their first dearth of eggs. So in the future, start hoarding eggs in august to keep for that scarcity to make it less necessary to go to the grocery store for eggs. They will molt and cease laying every autumn. Every bird is different in how long they take to regrow new feathers and resume laying. Sometimes it is two or three months, sometimes all winter.
Some people will get a few pullets each spring so when older birds take their annual break, the new ones will just begin laying.
Each year, a bird's winter production break is longer than the last.
Feathers don't last forever. They get broken and worn, no longer protecting the bird. All birds molt, usually annually. Primarily, this is keyed by day length. As days shorten, that is a signal winter is coming and a new winter coat is needed. They can't grow a new winter coat and produce eggs at the same time. It is a rare bird that can lay ANY eggs while growing new feathers. There are other things at play but in a nutshell, it just takes too much protein to grow a new winter coat and that is what is needed for ovulation.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you'll need to hit a grocery or farmer's market for the eggs for your pies.

Thank you! I just posted a similar question but your response here answers my question. One egg a day isn’t enough for all winter so we need to resign ourselves to shopping for eggs for the first time in over two years!

 

[adstowe]

The key is a multigenerational flock. Granted that doesn't work if you only keep a couple of chickens, but using my own birds as an example - I currently have 12 laying age hens. Usually I have a few more than that. I generally add around 4 new birds in the spring to account for losses etc. That means that each fall I have 4 new layers that lay through the winter.