Feed and Water and Supplemental Coop Lighting

[KCAmelia]

Well, now I'm worried. I'm reading a bit about molting, and it sounds like she might be stressed based on abrupt changes in light or lack of food or water! I haven't changed anything abruptly! And she's at the top of the pecking order, so no one is keeping her from food. Poor baby. I will have to think about this. Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[azygous]

There have been numerous reports of molting in less-than-one-year-olds. Climate change or something in the environment, who knows? But it does sound like your pullet is just experiencing a simple molt, partial or full.

You can feed extra protein to help her nutrition. I feed mackerel to my girls a few times a week throughout their molt, and they really love it. Even cat food will help.

If you're going to supplement light, I strongly urge you to tack the extra hours onto the early morning instead of evening. It's much less stressful for the chickens. They go to roost at their regular time, sleep all night through until the light comes on two hours before dawn, serving to merely lengthen their day as it would in summer. It won't hurt to toss some grain into the bedding after they go to roost so they have something to do during those early hours after the light wakes them up.

 

[KCAmelia]

Thank you! I was feeling like a terrible steward. I've been reading up on it and honestly may not mess with the light any more, but for now I don't want to make any drastic changes.

 

[NorthernHomestead]

I have one of those lights to combat S.A.D. that I pull out once in a while in February for myself. I can't imagine a bit of extra light hurting my girls to pull through winter. They've been bred to handle a wide range of temperatures. The warmer end of which would give them the same amount of light, so...

I read a blog post from a woman that would rather give her chickens some supplemental light for eggs than think about how the chickens are treated that produce the eggs she'd buy from the grocery store for winter use. I can't argue that.