Flash molt

[Kichibo]

It's mid October here in south west Pennsylvania and the weather is getting cold. One of my black Aussies suddenly went broody. I think I caught it after a couple days and I separated her into a grow out penn placed in the run with the other chickens. After a few days I put her back out with the rest of them and the broody behavior seemed resolved. For a few days everything seemed fine. Then out of nowhere she went into a mass molt, likely from the halt in egg production and stress. Her entire chest is bare and she is dripping feathers with every step. At this rate, she will be butt naked in a few days. The problem is their coop is completely unheated and the temperatures here will soon drop to freezing. The top 1/4 of the coop is open air, and they spend their days outside. The coop is only for sleeping.

What do I do? There's no way she will survive a winter here with no feathers at all. Are there chicken sweaters I can get for her? Is that even a good idea? Or am I going to have to bring her in for the winter? How long will it take for those feathers to grow back? I immediately increased her protein intake and I separated her to feed it to her, to make sure she gets plenty.

 

[coach723]

Some birds do this when they molt, and sometimes in the absolute dead of winter. When they lose a lot all at once it's called a hard molt. Usually as long as they are able to get out of prevailing winds and stay dry, they do ok. Many times they will snuggle with others while roosting to keep warm. Sweaters and other covers can cause problems, catching on new pin feathers coming in, attracting attention from others, getting caught on stuff, etc. I would just up their protein a little, if you feed layer feed switch to an all flock or grower in the 18-20% protein range, to help with feather regrowth, and just keep an eye on her. Treats should be higher protein treats, like scrambled egg, and limited amounts. Feather regrowth time can vary, but with a really hard molt it's often quicker since it's all happening at once. When they do a slower, more gradual molt, it can take months sometimes. All of which is normal.

 

[MysteryChicken]

It's mid October here in south west Pennsylvania and the weather is getting cold. One of my black Aussies suddenly went broody. I think I caught it after a couple days and I separated her into a grow out penn placed in the run with the other chickens. After a few days I put her back out with the rest of them and the broody behavior seemed resolved. For a few days everything seemed fine. Then out of nowhere she went into a mass molt, likely from the halt in egg production and stress. Her entire chest is bare and she is dripping feathers with every step. At this rate, she will be butt naked in a few days. The problem is their coop is completely unheated and the temperatures here will soon drop to freezing. The top 1/4 of the coop is open air, and they spend their days outside. The coop is only for sleeping.

What do I do? There's no way she will survive a winter here with no feathers at all. Are there chicken sweaters I can get for her? Is that even a good idea? Or am I going to have to bring her in for the winter? How long will it take for those feathers to grow back? I immediately increased her protein intake and I separated her to feed it to her, to make sure she gets plenty.

That's normal. Just make sure she gets high protein during the molt.