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.
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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:
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Here is a screenshot of a video of Flash.
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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.