how long is a molt

[mcrich]

! of our girls has quit laying. It has been over a month. She seemed to have gone through a molt and is back to looking as good as ever but still no eggs. She is only just over 1 year old. any thoughts, After fighting with our township and basically winning I would hate to throw in the towel because I can't keep them laying.

 

[Uniontown Poultry]

Molts can be tricky. Some birds take a "hard molt" where the feathers seem to come off all at once, leaving a very naked chicken. My Welsummer hen molts this way. Other chickens will do a sneaky little molt, where they just look ragged for a month or so, and you don't really see bald spots, just more feathers in the yard, and old broken feathers and new pinfeathers if you pick them up. My Polish hen molts like this. There is a lot of variety in the molt, and it can last from 2 - 3 weeks to 2 months. During this time, the hen's reproductive tract shrinks down to the size it was when she was a pullet, before she laid her first egg. They stop laying because their body needs to take all the protein they consume and turn it into new feathers (which are 85% protein). It may be hard for us to tell by looking at a hen when she's finished her molt, but usually the return of robust red color to the comb (which will be bigger than it is during the molt) and wattles is a sign it is ending. If your hen's molt has been a month, give her a few more weeks before you begin to worry. In the meantime, check her for laying: eyeball her vent to see if it's tight and dry (not laying yet) or relaxed and moist (laying), or feel her pubic bones (on either side of the vent, and above it, between vent and tail) to see if they are practically meeting above the vent (not laying), or if you can fit two finger-widths between them (laying). To make a molt go easier (and perhaps faster), toss your hens a few handfuls of high-quality dry cat food - the extra protein boost really helps 'em out. Good Luck!