How long to recover from heavy molt?

[Pele]

Hi all,

One of my girls is going through the heaviest molt I've ever seen on a chicken, and for all intents and purposes, she seems to have recovered fully. It took her about 3 months to get back into shape. For a while she was so bad that she was staggering about and we decided to confine her and feed her high protien foods.

The issue is, she still isn't laying, despite being back to normal. Any other girl I've ever had going through a molt hasn't taken so much time off.

Any experience out there with excessively heavy molts, and when the girls get back to the egglaying business?

 

[aoxa]

Do you have any additional lighting in the coop? Older hens may have a harder time laying when the days are as little as 10 hours now.

I know my older RIR is not laying because I am not providing additional light, but younger hens are. I'm just letting them take the winter off. I have pullets to keep me in eggs for the winter. Give the old gal a break

Good reason to get another couple pullets