feeding motling chickens

[chickeys]

This is the first molting for my girls. Should I change feed to help them through this? Do they always stop laying over winter?

 

[donrae]

I don't change feed. I feed everyone an all-in-one type feed, similar to grower. With my multi-age and gender flock, it's not feasible to change feed for me. For you, it might be. If all your birds are the same age and molting, it wouldn't hurt to boost their protein a little. If you're feeding layer currently, go to grower for a bag or so. If you're already feeding grower, just stay with that.

I don't supplement light, so my birds always take the winter off. I've found the cycle goes like this...

hatch chick spring 2014. She starts laying fall 14. Lays all that first winter, until fall 15. She then molts and takes the winter off. Starts laying again in spring 16, quits in late fall 16---repeat. Each spring they start laying again, although production drops a bit each year. This is with production-based hatchery birds.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You can, or you don't have too, some years I switch to a grower, others I don't. Some people run a light for their hens, to get them laying sooner, I never have, we have hard winters so I let mine resume laying naturally, some start in February, other wait until m
March. It depends how important the eggs are to you.