Do white Leghorns moult?

[stubbornhill]

I know... to me this sounds like a really silly question. However, I now have 3 of them. The farmer I got 2 of them from said that they don't moult. I haven't had the first one through a moulting season, so I took his word for it. Now...I have white feathers all over the place. Looks like a moult to me, but if they really don't moult. I need to start looking at other reasons for the feather loss.


Any Leghorn owners out there that can just give me a "Yes" or "No"? Thanks a bunch and have a blessed day!

 

[sourland]

A farmer told you that? A real farmer, or a wannabe? Yes leghorns molt.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Yes, Leghorns molt.

If they are well bred production birds though they often get it over and done with pretty fast and may not slow down much in egg laying.

I had one who just would not and would not until she look like she'd been buried a month and dug up again. Finally seemed to drop every feather at once and regrow her whole suit in a week. Boy could she eat!

 

[TriciaHowe]

A.T. Hagan :

Yes, Leghorns molt.

If they are well bred production birds though they often get it over and done with pretty fast and may not slow down much in egg laying.

I had one who just would not and would not until she look like she'd been buried a month and dug up again. Finally seemed to drop every feather at once and regrow her whole suit in a week. Boy could she eat!

I have a white rock turken that does the same thing....OMG that bird gets so scraggaly looking and then poof! beautiful again - well, as beautiful as a turken can get LOL!

 

[stubbornhill]

Yes, let me revise my statement however. He is a farmer. Big beautiful farm, many, many acres. But for organic veggies. Fairly new to organic eggs with his chicken business. It sounded crazy to me, but what do I know?

Thanks for the reassurance that yes, it is ok for my Leghorns to be moulting!

 

[heatherkh]

We adopted a few White Leghorns from our neighbor who needed to reduce his flock. One was in the throes of a heavy molt and looked like a meth addict after a 5-day bender. She started feathering in not too long and and now is the best looking chicken of the bunch, but she was patchy for the entire summer.

 

[greymane]

Quote:
That is what my wife would say! She has this odd aversion to them. I think they are funny.

 

[yankeedoodle300]

That farmer is messed up

all things with feathers molt! ( even White Leghorns )

 

[ECBW]

I am of the believe that molt does not necessarily equal naked bird. My 3-year-old leghorn, had slowed production in prior years and lost a few feathers. But this year, she is loosing a ton of feather and stopped laying. I was concerned until I saw the "pins".

 

[stubbornhill]

Well, again glad I asked. Most of us only know what we know from what other people tell us or what we experience first hand. Unfortunately, if you respect someone and they happen to give you some mis-information, then you carry on with that being an accurate fact in your mind until someone tells you or shows you differently. I hold no offense to the vegetable farmer. Probably someone had told him that and he had no other knowledge to pull from. I bet he could give me some accurate information in regards to eggplant!