Late molt

[dianefbarfield]

One of my brahmas waited to shed and now she is about half naked. Temps in N.C. are dropping fast. This week we will have lows of 23 and 18. What do I do?

 

[Yardmom]

Not sure why they don't molt earlier, but I've had several hens over the years molting in temperatures below freezing. They have been fine. I don't add any heat to my coop.

 

[Tonyroo]

Poor girl she's going to feel the freeze.

Can you make it a habit to bring her in your home and put her in a cage or dog carrier just to sleep than bring her out.

This reason for this is when they idle on the roost at night there body temperature drops a little. But since she has bare spots, she won't be able to hold the heat.

You will need to feed her high protein feed or feather fixer feed to stimulate faster feather growth. She needs to have visible feathers covering those bare spots before returning her to the coop to sleep with the flock.

 

[mamajos]

I have one that is all pin feathers on her legs and belly, with very few feathers on her upper parts. It was 3° F this morning. I wasn’t worried about her at 20° F, but getting close to 0° F concerned me. So she is in a shed we heat to 50°. I’ll move her back out after she grows some feathers for warmth.