Dominique Thread!

[centrarchid]

My American Dominique hens just committed to a hard molt. Egg production will be at best every third day for each hen and most will be on hiatus until shortly after Christmas. Pullets will be ramping up in about 30 days and lay well for a year solid before also going on the annual strike.

 

[Alaskan]

Yes... Mine too are molting .....

 

[Faraday40]

Can some hens lay during a light molt? I have a 2yr old hen that never lost all her feathers nor stopped laying for more than a week. She did slow down in June (1-2 eggs per week instead of the usual 6-7). Only one week was zero eggs. Then she slowly started up again.

I have 3 hens that are dropping feathers like crazy. One poor girl looks like a hedghog with all those pin feathers coming in.

 

[centrarchid]

She did loose her retrices / flight feathers last fall. Younger birds with in very good nutrition can sustain laying through replacement of feathers.

 

[Zone3Dakota]

So, once the birds go through their young bird molts, how does the old bird molts go? Is this a daylight induced thing?

My pigeons are/have been molting, seems that it starts lightly in late August, here. I'm noticing more flights being lost, so I'm thinking we're near the end of it.

But, if my chickens only started molting NOW, they would need sweaters and leggings before they would be done with it. We've had a nice extended autumn, this year, too. Have not had the garden frost, yet, but soon...

 

[Alaskan]

Mine are not done molting... And it has snowed twice.

However, mine are never ragged while molting, so they will not be cold.

 

[centrarchid]

So, once the birds go through their young bird molts, how does the old bird molts go?  Is this a daylight induced thing? 

My pigeons are/have been molting, seems that it starts lightly in late August, here.  I'm noticing more flights being lost, so I'm thinking we're near the end of it. 

But, if my chickens only started molting NOW, they would need sweaters and leggings before they would be done with it.  We've had a nice extended autumn, this year, too.  Have not had the garden frost, yet, but soon...

It is photoperiod / season induced. Mine begin turnover of wing flight feathers back in May or June with tail feather replacement starting in late Augut to September. At same time tail feather replacement starts they also begin turning over body feathers. Egg production largely stops while body feathers being replaced. Generally replacement of wing flight feathers and others feathers are completed at about the same time usually by the end of November. Hens generally replace body feathers fast enough not to be stressed by cold. Males often do suffer cold stress.

 

[Faraday40]

Here's a pic of my porcupine from last year's molt.

Taken Nov 2014


I don't have any this bad - yet. Funny how some molt hard & other molts can go barely noticed.
Egg production is down & feathers are blowing around the yard.

 

[centrarchid]

Hard molts indicative of stress and stress may have nearly a year before actual molt in question. Free-range birds I have seldom exhibit hard molt although same birds confined on a layer ration often show the hard molt. Hard molt means hard times in my setting.

 

[EastNashChick]

Hard molts indicative of stress and stress may have nearly a year before actual molt in question. Free-range birds I have seldom exhibit hard molt although same birds confined on a layer ration often show the hard molt. Hard molt means hard times in my setting.

My first batch of girls are exactly 1.5 yrs and aren't molting here yet. Do they sometimes wait until they are 2 years at times?