How long will they molt or be affected by the Heat?

[chicksgalore]

How long does it take a chicken to start laying again after a molt? I'm not even sure mine are molting. They just really laid off laying this past month and a lot of people say it's the heat, too, that theirs are off, too. Along those lines, it has been BEAUTIFUL here for the past 7 days and I'm still only getting 8-10 eggs from 17 mature hens. Prior to this past month, I was averaging 12-15 a day.

 

[josh_bigler]

Quote:
my chickens started laying towards the end of their molt, molt took them approx. 3 weeks and started getting feathers back, so i gave them higher protien feed through out the molt and they started laying ,but not all of them are laying still, sometimes it takes some longer than others, 8-10 eggs a day from 17 mature hens isnt bad either. considering that its been so hot lately, even though its cooled down in your area doesnt mean the chickens have gotten over how hot its been! heat really slows them down, also check for mites or bugs, just to make sure nothing else is causing them to slow down in production! and also older hens slow down in production quite a bit, how old are your hens? that could be a problem to!

 

[keljonma]

If they are molting, you will know it. The hen house, yard, run (or where ever your chickens hang out) will look like one big pillow fight has taken place.

 

[rooster-red]

Moulting can last as little as 3 weeks, and as long as 3 months.

 

[AllChookUp]

josh_bigler wrote:
molt took them approx. 3 weeks and started getting feathers back, so i gave them higher protien feed through out the molt and they started laying

Josh - Did you swich to a "grower" versus "layer" feed for higher protein? The only feeds I've seen in my local mill is labeled "starter", "grower", and "layer". I keep my mature hens on "layer".

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