Can a molting chicken still lay an egg?

[TheSpiceGirls]

My BO is molting. She's doing the S-L-O-W molt and delicately drops one feather at a time. You can't even tell she's molting except that last night she lost her last tail feather and now she's rumpless.

Anyway, I went to check for eggs just now and there's one of her delicate pink eggs in her nest. She's 6 weeks into this molt and I figure she's got months to go since she does it so slowly.

I didn't think hens laid while molting. But maybe because she's molting so slowly and she gets healthy, high protein treats from me every afternoon, she thought she'd pop one out.

Is this possible? Or totally abnormal?

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Hens often do continue to lay while molting. Not as much, but they do often continue to lay.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Thank you. I thought I was losing my mind today. I just assumed that she would stop completely.

 

[chickenbythesea]

mine moulted so slowly that I didn't even realize they were doing it until my son said the coop was full of feathers. You couldn't tell by looking at them at all. Mine also laid the whole time, and maybe didn't even slow down much. I say this because I don't even remember a slow down.

 

[centrarchid]

Molting occurs in two phases. The first phase starting at beginning of summer involves replacement of roughly 1/2 of wing flight feathers. Egg production continues through this also slowed if nutrition is poor. At summers end tail and and body feather replacement begins and with my games and dominiques egg production all but shuts down for all but exceptional individuals in good nutritional status. I stop egg production at this time to enable birds to invest soley in molt since feather quality important for upcoming winter season.