I posted a thread in a local small farm group on Facebook back in November, when it was still relatively comfortable in my area. At that time I had no idea what this winter would become. Here was my post from November 3, 2017 from that local Facebook group:
"Has anyone heard that chickens predict a bad winter? I read this once in an old book (1950's?) that I can't find any where now. It said (basically) that if they molt light it will be a mild winter but if they molt heavy then it's going to be a bad winter. Last year my chickens molted light and it was a mild winter. This year they are molting like they are trying to make a feather bed. Is it just a old wives' tale or is there something to it? Hmmm... Perhaps we shall see.."
The response that I got from that thread was overwhelmingly (95%) from people who said that they had noticed that their backyard chickens were likewise molting very heavy this year. Egg production in all flocks (of those that replied) had dropped much more than normal. Some people chimed in to say that their horses and cows and put on a much thicker coat than normal. We all began to wonder just how bad this winter was going to be, or if the rumor was true. It is starting to appear that it might have some validity...
So I am curious how has you flock been this past fall and now winter of 2017/2018? Have you noticed a heavy molt? Have you heard that chickens might just predict the hard winter? Eager to find out...
"Has anyone heard that chickens predict a bad winter? I read this once in an old book (1950's?) that I can't find any where now. It said (basically) that if they molt light it will be a mild winter but if they molt heavy then it's going to be a bad winter. Last year my chickens molted light and it was a mild winter. This year they are molting like they are trying to make a feather bed. Is it just a old wives' tale or is there something to it? Hmmm... Perhaps we shall see.."
The response that I got from that thread was overwhelmingly (95%) from people who said that they had noticed that their backyard chickens were likewise molting very heavy this year. Egg production in all flocks (of those that replied) had dropped much more than normal. Some people chimed in to say that their horses and cows and put on a much thicker coat than normal. We all began to wonder just how bad this winter was going to be, or if the rumor was true. It is starting to appear that it might have some validity...
So I am curious how has you flock been this past fall and now winter of 2017/2018? Have you noticed a heavy molt? Have you heard that chickens might just predict the hard winter? Eager to find out...