Can someone post a pictures of their hen moulting?

[ella]

Here is Ella moulting from last year:

And close up of Lucy's newly growing neck feathers:

MeanQueenNadine, they usually quit laying during molt.

 

[peepsnbunnies]

Finally I got around to taking a pic of my Rosie. She is a Black Rosecomb hen and when she moults, she does it all at one time! She will be just fine looking one day and the next morning it looks like she had a fight with a weedeater! Look - she has NO tail feathers!

She has bare spots, some are starting to grow back in, like on her neck. I tell her she looks "motheaten"

I really think she is embarassed about her looks because usually she doesn't mind when I take pic, but today, I had to follow her all around the yard trying to get a good one.

Lisa

 

[Mac]

Those pictures make me feel a lot better, thanks. My hens haven't started molting yet (I don't think), but they were really beat up by my roos (completely bare and red backs and heavy tail feather loss), but I can now see the new feather shafts starting to grow back in. Wonder what will happen now? They have new growth starting near molt time.....They are 3 year old RIR's. Finally found a good home for my 2 roos. I couldn't stand the abuse anymore.

Mac

 

[sgtmom52]

This is my SLW Maggie who just started molting. She only has 3 tail feathers now. On the positive side, she should be ready to start laying soon!

 

[vtgold]

Anyone know how long hens' first molt typically lasts? I live in Vermont (cold climate) and my 15-month-old birds have been actively molting for a good 6 weeks now. Also, does egg production return to prior levels after the molt? I was getting 7-8 eggs/day from my 8 hens but have now dropped to 3-5 eggs/day (and one hen hasn't laid an egg in a month). Thanks!
Eric

 

[Rhaena]

do you ever see them pick their neck feathers clean off when they are molting? Also, on one of the pics I saw one with a red swollen butt - is that also a sign of molting? 2 of my RIR have both the above.
-thanks
Rhaena

 

[ella]

vtgold, molting can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Each hen tends to molt differently, so it's hard to predict when they'll be done.

Egg production will pick up when they are done molting and when they get 12-14 hours of light a day. It's natural for them to slow down egg production during the molt and following winter, it gives their bodies a chance to recover from the stress of laying.

When they are done molting you can add artificial light to make a 12 hour day, but you risk their health as they tend to prolape or burn out if they're kept in production year round. That's one of the reasons production hens are slaughtered after their first year.

If you wait for them to begin laying naturally you will still get lots of eggs from them for years to come. But it wouldn't be a bad idea to add a few pullets every year to keep the egg numbers up.

Rhaena, if they are picking their feathers off and have red swollen skin it sound more like mites or lice. Take a flashlight at night and look at the skin around their behinds and necks and look for bugs crawling around. It's important to take care of those bugs quick because they can be really hard on their health.

 

[SpottedCrow]

Most of the time, they don't lay during the moult. But Miss MoneyPenny's growing her feathers back in and she's started laying again...but I don't think she's had a moult with me yet. I've only had her since December...she usually yanks out her tummy feathers when she's broody and Obelisk the Tormentor yanks out her buddy's neck feathers..Obelisk has had a really bad moult this year. She lost ALL of her tail feathers and looked like a NN too...it was really bad.

 

[vtgold]

Thanks!

 

[PoultryDune]

Does anyone know if turkeys moult? Our bronze hen is a year old and her feathers started falling out two days ago. She looks depressed.