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

[NatJ]

Are pellets designed to be digested quickly or slowly do you know?

Pelleted chicken feeds are made of ground-up ingredients, mostly grains. So they probably digest faster than whole grains, but maybe slower than some of the other things you mentioned.

 

[3KillerBs]

My final molter is just finishing up and I have to say that I just don't know about any possible pattern with molters and food.

With 20-30 birds it's difficult to notice any given bird eating more or less and while the really ragged girls get grumpy and want to sleep in nests I haven't had one seem really ill.

Deflated and pathetic-looking compared to their normal, fully-feathered selves, but not ill-seeming.

I will say that I always feed at least 10% protein, 20% if I can get it.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

What feed do you use? I’m thinking I’m keeping mine on starter/grower w oyster on the side when they start laying, since I can’t find an organic feed above 16…

Same! My gals are almost 3yrs old and still on a 20% organic chick starter with oyster and egg shells. I do occasionally get the 16% layer feed in the hottest weather, but instincts tell me the more protein the better. The crude protein #'s on the label has changed too!

 

[bmaw]

this is the first time in 3 years, my molting birds are not even pecking at their chicken food. untouched all day. they are being very picky with other foods/snacks offered as well. i just had a clear fecal from 1 of them, but showed 1 mite egg. i do not see mites on them. i'm wondering if this is a problem? i also lost a flock member a week ago.

 

[BDutch]

this is the first time in 3 years, my molting birds are not even pecking at their chicken food. untouched all day. they are being very picky with other foods/snacks offered as well. i just had a clear fecal from 1 of them, but showed 1 mite egg. i do not see mites on them. i'm wondering if this is a problem? i also lost a flock member a week ago.

What kinda mites?
Red mites are only at night on a chicken.
And if you have them in the coop, you do have a problem.
Shine a light on the chickens and roost after dark and you can spot them if you have an infestation. Use control rolls made from ribbed / biscuit paper to monitor.
I have no experience with other mites. There is article that covers all mites and lice.

 

[bmaw]

I voted yes AND yes on their first hard molt, though I only noticed it being hard on the first molt after someone else mentioned it.

Remember Ester? This was her first molt and I had to tube her for two weeks. It was very challenging to get her to eat ANYTHING, let alone commercial feed. She was too cold and weak to free range. I took her in after this… she was quite wobbly.
View attachment 2871886

Both Flash AND Minnie temporarily went off commercial feed this year. Even though they are a year apart, it’s a first molt for each of them. Interestingly, they both also clogged their crops up a bit. Here is Minnie when her molt first started:
View attachment 2871887

Here is a screenshot of a video of Flash.
View attachment 2871894

A few years back, Little Mill also starved herself during molt. After she had gone to roost weak and wobbly, I went to check on her and rescued her off the coop floor. She had fallen from the roost and was literally sprawled out on the floor. I can’t find a photo and don’t recall if it was her first molt. It was 2019, so probably not. When I go back and look at a PM thread I had with a friend on Millie, I remember Millie ALSO had a slow crop during molt. In her case, she might have gotten backed up due to eating feathers. But what’s up with all the crop issues in molting hens who starve themselves? Edited to add: I think it might be a combination of their digestion slowing while they are not feeling well and their eating of unusual things like feathers and hay.

what did you do to help her after coming off the floor? what did you do to help her crop? i have one regurgitating some bc of that.

 

[bmaw]

What kinda mites?
Red mites are only at night on a chicken.
And if you have them in the coop, you do have a problem.
Shine a light on the chickens and roost after dark and you can spot them if you have an infestation. Use control rolls made from ribbed / biscuit paper to monitor.
I have no experience with other mites. There is article that covers all mites and lice.

i don't think it's red mites bc i checked them in the dark and didn't see any.

 

[bmaw]

I voted yes AND yes on their first hard molt, though I only noticed it being hard on the first molt after someone else mentioned it.

Remember Ester? This was her first molt and I had to tube her for two weeks. It was very challenging to get her to eat ANYTHING, let alone commercial feed. She was too cold and weak to free range. I took her in after this… she was quite wobbly.
View attachment 2871886

Both Flash AND Minnie temporarily went off commercial feed this year. Even though they are a year apart, it’s a first molt for each of them. Interestingly, they both also clogged their crops up a bit. Here is Minnie when her molt first started:
View attachment 2871887

Here is a screenshot of a video of Flash.
View attachment 2871894

A few years back, Little Mill also starved herself during molt. After she had gone to roost weak and wobbly, I went to check on her and rescued her off the coop floor. She had fallen from the roost and was literally sprawled out on the floor. I can’t find a photo and don’t recall if it was her first molt. It was 2019, so probably not. When I go back and look at a PM thread I had with a friend on Millie, I remember Millie ALSO had a slow crop during molt. In her case, she might have gotten backed up due to eating feathers. But what’s up with all the crop issues in molting hens who starve themselves? Edited to add: I think it might be a combination of their digestion slowing while they are not feeling well and their eating of unusual things like feathers and hay.

and poor esther! i can't imagine tubing with all those pin feathers!

 

[micstrachan]

what did you do to help her after coming off the floor? what did you do to help her crop? i have one regurgitating some bc of that.

First, I brought her inside and warmed her up. After she was nice and cozy, I offered baby bird formula in a bowl as a treat. I kept her inside for a few days to keep warm and offered her all sorts of soft things to eat. She still gets a slow crop sometimes during molt. I tube fluids and massage her crop, but I do NOT recommend tubing fluids to a chicken who is regurgitating (it’s easy to cause aspiration, which can kill them). I think back then, I just gently massaged her crop and probably fed her chunks of frozen coconut oil, but I don’t remember for sure. That was awhile back.

 

[micstrachan]

and poor esther! i can't imagine tubing with all those pin feathers!

Yeah, poor thing. But it was a necessity and we really bonded when I helped her through that! She died less than a year later. I had her euthanized because she was swollen, lethargic, and she was in complete crop stasis. The vet was unable to tap any fluid off her and thought she likely had cancer.Necropsy revealed advanced ovarian cancer that had spread all over and was blocking her digestive tract. I do wonder if she had the beginning of her cancer when she took that molt so hard. It was a very hard molt and right in the middle of (California) winter. Maybe the cancer threw her system off.

Anyway, here’s a cute picture of us where she has a nice full crop after a feeding.