Do your hens go off their usual feed when they moult?

[Shadrach]

For a great many chicken health topics we get our information from research done by or with the chicken egg and meat producing companies.

Most of the hens I know of that go through a particularly heavy moult do so in their second year and most battery hens are killed at this age because egg production declines from two years old onward so this may be the reason why so little research and information in general is available on this topic.

There are in the BYC threads quite a few posts from keepers who are very worried about the health of their moulting hens because they are losing weight and often producing watery poop, looking listless and isolated but most concerning is they reduce, or stop eating the commercial feed entirely.

I hope some of those who have posted on the threads about their experiences with moulting hens will contribute here.

What I have found is there is a lot of variation in how sever this first major moult is from hen to hen. I've had hens who "go off" for a couple of days and others who look decidely sick for a couple of weeks. Being concerned about their health I've checked a lot of moulting hens crops at roost time and found that the free range hens had at least partially full crops while more recent experience with what were essentially confined Ex Batts, their crop may be almost empty at roost time. Once the Ex Batts were allowed to forage away from their run their crop content at roost time was noticeably more, but it wasn't from eating the commercial feed.

I've observed perhaps 20 free range hens during their moult and tried with little success to establish what exactly it is they fill their crops with during the day. Also, the free range hens tended to forage in the same areas no matter where their "home territory2 was. One might conclude that these areas contained particular nutrients the moulting hen believes she needs.

Fudge. Her first sever moult. She spent most of the day away from her tribe foraging and her crop would be full at roost time.

Lima. An Ex Batt not only moulting but also trying to replace feathers damaged before she arrived at the rescue centre. She has improved dramatically since she been allowed out to forage and received additional food supplements from me.

 

[BY Bob]

Every time she has molted, Hattie has gone off commercial feed. She starts almost a week before there is noticeable feather loss. She stands away from the remaining hens and does not compete for treats. I even provide feather fixer feed. I am going to start switching them to feather fixer a month before their molts start in order to build up their protein prior to them going off commercial feed.

Here is Hattie during her current molt.

 

[wolfwalker]

It might be breed dependent or hybrid dependent. I never feed below a 20% protein feed and have noticed that even the cinnamon queens, who are a hybrid only slow down to a couple of eggs a week in a severe molt instead of quitting and they never seem to lose weight. Which I attribute to a higher protein feed. If my feed store is ever out of 20% I will switch to a meat bird and I have been known to switch to a meat bird, 22% protein, if when molting they start to look skinny.

I have not ever noticed any of my birds not wanting to eat during molt.

 

[Marie2020]

Amber loaths any excessive weather changes but melts awfully in the heat.

Since her last molt she's not laid an egg and has what looks like yoke in her poo.
This has concerned my greatly but she eats really well and enjoys her life in her grumpy way.

The past couple of day's it has been raining, she has lost a few few feather's and is not so interested in her food.
Yesterday I added some treats into the feed which drew her into eating again.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

For a great many chicken health topics we get our information from research done by or with the chicken egg and meat producing companies.

Most of the hens I know of that go through a particularly heavy moult do so in their second year and most battery hens are killed at this age because egg production declines from two years old onward so this may be the reason why so little research and information in general is available on this topic.

There are in the BYC threads quite a few posts from keepers who are very worried about the health of their moulting hens because they are losing weight and often producing watery poop, looking listless and isolated but most concerning is they reduce, or stop eating the commercial feed entirely.

I hope some of those who have posted on the threads about their experiences with moulting hens will contribute here.

What I have found is there is a lot of variation in how sever this first major moult is from hen to hen. I've had hens who "go off" for a couple of days and others who look decidely sick for a couple of weeks. Being concerned about their health I've checked a lot of moulting hens crops at roost time and found that the free range hens had at least partially full crops while more recent experience with what were essentially confined Ex Batts, their crop may be almost empty at roost time. Once the Ex Batts were allowed to forage away from their run their crop content at roost time was noticeably more, but it wasn't from eating the commercial feed.

I've observed perhaps 20 free range hens during their moult and tried with little success to establish what exactly it is they fill their crops with during the day. Also, the free range hens tended to forage in the same areas no matter where their "home territory2 was. One might conclude that these areas contained particular nutrients the moulting hen believes she needs.

Fudge. Her first sever moult. She spent most of the day away from her tribe foraging and her crop would be full at roost time.
View attachment 2870977

Lima. An Ex Batt not only moulting but also trying to replace feathers damaged before she arrived at the rescue centre. She has improved dramatically since she been allowed out to forage and received additional food supplements from me.
View attachment 2870986

Butters (below) was loading up on their Feather Fixer 18% protein and any snacks prior to this molt, her first real molt (15 months old). Now she doesn't compete for treats and isn't eating normally, but I did see her nibble some pellets today. It looks like a hard one. Another bird (Popcorn) seems to really be pigging out now and I wonder if she will be molting soon too. Hazel has had less of a visibly hard molt, an even one it seems, but was way off her feed for weeks, could barely be enticed to eat anything except earthworms and greens, and lost a great deal of weight. She is coming back now. These chickens are all Buckeyes, same age.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

After 2 years of observing molts, I'll say ours don't go off their feed.

They get runny poop for about a week, take more naps and have a short fuse with other chickens for 1-2 weeks, and get pale/smaller combs for a few months. During the worst of the molt, it looks like they feel like we do with a fever: sore and achy.

Molts in our chickens have been lighter and more gradual in year 2, both for chickens in their 1st and 2nd molts. This past year, we changed their nutrition to 18-20% protein/minimum 0.4% methionine (up from 16-17% protein/0.3% methionine). Two Easter Eggers even laid regularly through most of their first molts. So, one hypothesis is that better nutrition resulted in a gentler molt.

I also worked this past year to lower stress by providing separate quarters for overzealous cockerels. Whether due to lowered stress, maturity, or long-term integrated pest management, the flock was also better at fending off our 2 biggest health issues in 2020: roundworms and northern fowl mites. Mites completely disappeared by spring 2021, and I haven't had to take poops to a vet for worm analysis in the past year. We're down to a prophylactic chemical deworming 3 times a year, with fresh garlic once a month in between, and mite powder in coop corners but not in direct contact with the birds themselves.

It's possible that lowered stress, parasite pressure, and chemical treatments may have helped reduce their molt severity as well.

Again, we're just 2 years in. In year 3, they may have severe molts, and I'll hypothesize it's all about the weather or the solar flares and moon cycles instead

 

[BDutch]

From late summer till mid winter there is one or are a few chickens that molt in my flock. Never severe molting. In molt most of them stop laying til after winter . For a couple of years I didn’t get eggs from november till spring. Except from one good layer.

Because we (Netherlands) have very little choice in feed and the layer for hens contains way too much calcium for not laying chickens , I buy a bag of chick feed in autumn to mix with the layer. And give more scratch and other feed during winter. They also get some extra mealworms snd insects for the needed protein’s

The amount of proteins in chicken feed in the Netherlands is way less than in the US. All layer feed contains approximately 15% protein and 3,5-4% calcium. I feed organic and this has 14,5% protein en 3,5 calcium.

The feed we can buy at the mill, in the pet shop or agricultural shop comes from the factories who supply to the commercial farms with laying hybrids that lay all year. About an egg each day. After 2 years these layers are exhausted because of all the production labour and the commercially optimised feed for the egg factories.

Thats why I think the feed they sell here is not healthy for most backyard chickens. If possible I let them free range to gather the fresh feed they really need to stay healthy.

 

[fuentemoon]

Only one of my three (Brenna) totally went off her feed, and she had had the hardest moult both this year and last, not quite 2 and 3 years old. All three come running when I go out hoping I have something yummy, but get bored with eating what ever I bring them and go back to grooming or napping pretty quick.
Brenna separated herself for about a week as her moult was starting and ate very little of anything, once her new feather shafts started poking out she was eating again.
Brenna and Alinta are black Australorps hatched feb 2018, Rosie is a buff Orpington of unknown age, at least 6 months older. All are currently either walking feather bombs or prickly.

 

[Ribh]

Of 20 birds not all go off the commercial feed when moulting. My frizzle, Lavender, was one who did. Most of her moult was underneath & her breast feathers but you may remember this is also when she decided to go broody. I was offering tinned fish to my moulters but she prefered to free range & feather pick.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Question. If chickens get feed with too little calcium, will they eat more oyster shells and egg shells as soon as they start to lay again?

I would say yes. Chickens seem to know what they need. We feed an all-flock formula that does not contain calcium, and our laying hens help themselves to oyster shell as they need it. Non-laying birds (old, young, male) don't partake.