HARD molt!

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

My poor girl, Julie, is nearly naked. It’s the worst molt I’ve ever seen, minus some pictures. This is her first molt and she is not yet 2. I have radiant heat in the barn, but it only adds about 15 degrees. I use it when it’s 10 degrees or colder, or if there is a huge drop in temps. So maybe 10 nights a year. I brought Julie in the house 2 days ago when night temps went to 7 and day temps to 20. In the house, temps are fluctuating between 60 and 63 degrees. I let her out for a couple of hours today (temps reached 48) because I don’t want her flock to forget her. I let her sit by the door with the screen closed for about 10 minutes in hopes of a slower change to the cold. What on earth am I going to do to get her back outside safely? And when?? Am I hurting her letting her out at all? She is breathing heavy much of the time and I’m worried sick about her. This molt is brutal. Pic doesn’t show that her butt is 100% bare, but has pins. Her back is also mostly bare. Was I wrong to bring her in? I lost 2 beloved girls in the past month (Hawk and obstruction) and have struggled immensely with heartbreak. I can’t lose another!

 

[casportpony]

Inside is where mine would be if it were colder than 40 degrees at night.

 

[KRack]

In a similar situation, so following along!

 

[SamLockwood]

I had three hens finishing their molt during last month's cold snap here for four days last month. Temps never got above the 20's during that time and one night they dropped to 5 degrees.

All three of them never want to sleep inside the coops, but insist on roosting in the run. None of them were that "naked" and the one was pretty much done (she she had no "pins" but her feathers weren't quite full size). The other two had their inner "down" grown back but some of the surface feathers around the head & neck still looked like needles.

They all made it through OK. On the coldest night they slept with their heads tucked under a wing, which made them look like headless chicken torsos placed on the 2x4 roosting bars I have in the run. Chickens are pretty hardy when it comes to the cold.

That being said, with all that bare skin I'd keep her somewhere above freezing. Mid to high 40's is probably OK if she's dry and there's little or no wind. Make sure you're feeding her extra protein to help her feather in quicker, and as soon as you stop seeing bare skin and she and the outer layer has more feathers than "pins" she should be OK.

If you're keeping her isolated from the flock the whole time, you may have to re-integrate her gradually with the usual methods.

 

[nuthatched]

She'll be ok, heed her high protein feed to help her through it

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

I had three hens finishing their molt during last month's cold snap here for four days last month. Temps never got above the 20's during that time and one night they dropped to 5 degrees.

All three of them never want to sleep inside the coops, but insist on roosting in the run. None of them were that "naked" and the one was pretty much done (she she had no "pins" but her feathers weren't quite full size). The other two had their inner "down" grown back but some of the surface feathers around the head & neck still looked like needles.

They all made it through OK. On the coldest night they slept with their heads tucked under a wing, which made them look like headless chicken torsos placed on the 2x4 roosting bars I have in the run. Chickens are pretty hardy when it comes to the cold.

That being said, with all that bare skin I'd keep her somewhere above freezing. Mid to high 40's is probably OK if she's dry and there's little or no wind. Make sure you're feeding her extra protein to help her feather in quicker, and as soon as you stop seeing bare skin and she and the outer layer has more feathers than "pins" she should be OK.

If you're keeping her isolated from the flock the whole time, you may have to re-integrate her gradually with the usual methods.

I did have one, much like you are describing, during the December terrible cold. She did ok too though she looked pretty cold during the day. Julie’s feather are opening very quickly, but still not quick enough for us! Being in the house, she is getting more mealworms than any chicken should get. Scrambled eggs too. And anything that falls on the floor.

Thank you for the story of how your chickens fared. I have never read about anyone’s chickens actually freezing to death, only close calls. I wonder how often that actually happens? I don’t want to ever find out with my chicken family!

 

[Mrs. K]

I had a chicken molt like that, I thought a coon had gotten in the coop - it was like all her feathers just fell off all at once - But she grew back those feathers fast too. Your bird is too. In a week she will have a brand new 'dress' already for Easter.

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

I had a chicken molt like that, I thought a coon had gotten in the coop - it was like all her feathers just fell off all at once - But she grew back those feathers fast too. Your bird is too. In a week she will have a brand new 'dress' already for Easter.

Update for anyone in the future…
Exactly as Mrs. K said, her feathers grew back in so fast I couldn’t believe my eyes. It also seems true what they say about the best layers molting extremely fast and doing so later in the year.

I think because she spent most of her days by the patio door, where her and her sisters could see each other, she had no problem integrating back in. I also would let her out a couple of hours every day while temps were around 50°. After she went back outside, I put her in the corner, on her regular roost, with one of those TV screen looking radiant heaters and she snuggled up to it all night for about another week. I believe that being inside was a lifesaver in her situation. I really hope that doesn’t happen to her next year, because there’s nothing fun about having a chicken wandering around in the house for a week!