Quote:
So far I've only been thru the mini-moult with my flock. Not all of my 14 hens went thru it. Of those that did, it occured in the 7 to 8 month range, one hen was 9 months when she finally moulted. There was quite a few feathers laying around in the chicken yard and coop. None of the hens looked awful, just some small bare spots here and there, with tuffs of fluff sticking out between the feathers. Their laying fell off for about a week total. I upped their protein intake and each hen completed hers in about a week.
I'm told they will look much worse during the first full moult that comes around 18 months of age. Obvious bare spots, little to no laying and it could take them weeks to months to complete.
So far I've only been thru the mini-moult with my flock. Not all of my 14 hens went thru it. Of those that did, it occured in the 7 to 8 month range, one hen was 9 months when she finally moulted. There was quite a few feathers laying around in the chicken yard and coop. None of the hens looked awful, just some small bare spots here and there, with tuffs of fluff sticking out between the feathers. Their laying fell off for about a week total. I upped their protein intake and each hen completed hers in about a week.
I'm told they will look much worse during the first full moult that comes around 18 months of age. Obvious bare spots, little to no laying and it could take them weeks to months to complete.
