Heavier than normal fall molt predicted hard winter?

[NikAndHerChicks]

Glad I'm not the only one! I had several hens that had such a bad molt this fall that I did a complete lice/mite check! I thought for sure something was wrong... they looked so pitiful. Now, it is frigid outside & my 2 leghorns decided that this was the perfect time to "strip naked" per se. I worry about them already, they're such small birds with those big floppy combs, and now I have even more bare skin on them to worry about!

 

[Foristers]

I have no idea......mine are still molting too, bunch of feathers on the poop boards today. Some of my birds molted in August, some started just a week or two ago.

...just going to reassert my thesis here: heavy molt = hard winter.... jus' sayin'. If a horse or cow will make a heavier coat, knowing nothing about meteorology, then why wouldn't an outdoor chicken also share this same instinct?

 

[NCaliChick]

A couple of my girls molted so much, they were practically completely bald. Clarice (black sexlink) was absolutely pathetic. Several molted like normal. And I haven’t gotten a single egg in well over a week, which has never been an issue, since their molts have all been staggered. I’ve had chickens for about 9 years or so, and I’ve never been this long without eggs, or seen such sad molting.

My cats are putting on heavier coats & fat layers this year. They’re eating like nobody’s business, too.

 

[lazy gardener]

I've never seen pullets do a winter molt. But I have a hand full of pullets that have been blowing neck and tail feathers.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I've never seen pullets do a winter molt. But I have a hand full of pullets that have been blowing neck and tail feathers.

I've seen neck molts in pullets in the following spring but never a full molt. I do wait until May -June to get mine. Earlier stock I think gets confused. It's more normal for them to mature under decreasing light, not increasing.

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes, they were blowing feathers before the solstice. They are now filling back in nicely. I delayed adding light until after the solstice. I'll not do that again.

 

[aart]

...just going to reassert my thesis here: heavy molt = hard winter.... jus' sayin'. If a horse or cow will make a heavier coat, knowing nothing about meteorology, then why wouldn't an outdoor chicken also share this same instinct?

And I will reassert mine:

Depends on what birds you are talking about....
...pullets do sometimes molt in their first fall, often it's not a full or a hard molt.

Older birds will molt harder or softer as is their inclination, don't think it has much to do with the weather ahead. Tho we had a mild fall and now it brutal out there, some of my birds molted pretty hard later than usual.

Mammals growing heavy coats might be more indicative of weather ahead than bird molt.

And the exchange that followed

So why do you think I still have molting birds? Any theories? It is the first time I have seen such late molting.

I have no idea......mine are still molting too, bunch of feathers on the poop boards today. Some of my birds molted in August, some started just a week or two ago.

Not sure a late molt indicates any meteorological intuition.....
.....or they'd have had all their new feathers grown in by now, eh?

"Heavy" (did you mean hard molt ?) just means they lose all their feathers fast rather than slowly...and that I think depends on the individual bird or maybe nutritional aspects.

Most all adult birds replace all their feathers every year..they don't grow extra long ones for a heavier 'coat' like mammals can.

 

[Foristers]

Not sure a late molt indicates any meteorological intuition.....
.....or they'd have had all their new feathers grown in by now, eh?

"Heavy" (did you mean hard molt ?) just means they lose all their feathers fast rather than slowly...and that I think depends on the individual bird or maybe nutritional aspects.

Most all adult birds replace all their feathers every year..they don't grow extra long ones for a heavier 'coat' like mammals can.

So it's pretty basic. As early as October I noticed that there were many more feathers in the run and coop this year over previous years. My chickens don't drop all of their feathers at once, nor ever appear "bald" at any given time. The molt has always been long enough to drop and regrow so that they are never bald. I only raise Buff Orpingtons, a heritage breed that has been outdoor raised since the 1800's. But this year there were more feathers dropped during the molt than normal.
I am calling that a "hard or heavy molt", not a technical term just using it to express a meaning.

Now you might say that if a bird losses a specific amount of feathers in a given year then there would in reality be no more or less feathers dropped in a given molt but I am not so sure about that.
Chickens loose some feathers all year. I know this because all year I find some feathers here and there, some are pulled out in "disagreements" with others in the flock, some are pulled by the hen herself to make bedding, etc. But some just fall out at various times of the year. I know this because if I pick up my hen and pet her in a non-molt season and I might get a feather or two on my hands.

So what would a "hard or heavy molt" mean in terms of a hen preparing for winter? Perhaps she sheds more of those feather during the molt: all of the ones she would normally shed in a light molt, plus go ahead and drop whatever feathers she would have lost naturally after the molt, in say Jan, Feb, March & April and maximize the feather count going through those months. I don't know - theory, not necessarily scientifically proven. Maybe it is to produce thicker shafts, or denser plumage.

There was a second part to this molt season that seemed to add further evidence. The egg production also dropped well below a normal molt, given the same ration. Now this tells me that even more protein was needed to cover one of two things: either the making of more feathers than normal and/or the making of denser/fluffier feathers. Again, I don't know - just theory.

But I will say that the majority of the response (85%?) that I have received on this subject in the original Facebook group post, which is local to my area, all agreed that this was a hard molt year, that more feathers than normal dropped, and egg production was much lower. I was interested to see what the responses would be here as it gathers input from across the country and Canada.

It may be that there is nothing to it, but it is hard to ignore the very real evidence.

 

[lazy gardener]

To OP: how many years have you been keeping a flock?

 

[junebuggena]

...just going to reassert my thesis here: heavy molt = hard winter.... jus' sayin'. If a horse or cow will make a heavier coat, knowing nothing about meteorology, then why wouldn't an outdoor chicken also share this same instinct?

What about those who have chickens in moderate climates that don't experience harsh winters? Last winter, we got enough snow to make a footprint (total for the whole season), but we did have several cold snaps. This year, it's barely hit freezing twice. My hens that do a gradual molt, always molt gradually. Those that are hard molters, are always hard molters. Weather does not have any effect. Any pullets that are over 8 months by October are guaranteed to molt here, the days get so shorter so quickly at that point in the year. It has no relation to the future weather patterns. I have noticed a slight coincidence when it comes to the onset of molting and the lunar and tide cycles though. King tides (slightly closer position of the moon to the earth) tends to increase the odds of a hen starting molt. The west coast just experienced a king tide last week, so any hens that hadn't quite finished dropping feathers prior, did so this past week.