How to Know Who’s Molting?

[micstrachan]

A couple of my girls are well into significant molts… There are feathers everywhere and you can see their new feathers coming in. However, I also have a couple who have dropped just a few feathers and I don’t see pin feathers on them. There seems to be a very slow, steady dropping of feathers, but no obvious molt for those two. One of them (at least) definitely still has laying hormones, as she does the submissive squat. However, I don’t think she’s actually laying. Thoughts on this? Here are a couple photos where I obviously have feathers from multiple hens, two of which (Buckeye and Barred Rock) are questionable as far as molts. Egg production has been crazy low this August. I have nine hens and get an average of two or three eggs a day. I’m thinking there’s some slow molting going on that I just can’t detect super easily. Some of them do eat feathers.

 

[alexa009]

I had thought my chickens were going through a molt also until I realized it happened to be they were feather picking the lower dominant ones. I have also had chickens do small molts early, late August or September and then when it hits November they will start heavily shedding feathers quick.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Those feathers all have parasite damage... could be wear and tear as noted by molting age. But are you able to post pics of the birds you are concerned about not being molt?

Feather eating is blamed on lack of protein way more often than it's true in my opinion. Feathers... despite being made from 90% protein and its' amino acids ACTUALLY are only about 2% digestible protein.

What are you feeding? I far prefer Purina flock raiser (20% protein) with oyster shell on the side free choice for layers over "layer" feed. Birds not in lay don't need the added calcium and the more protein DOES impact how quickly they recover from molt (though the molt timing and speed the feathers drop will be completely individual). To me squatting might initially be hormonal... but as you note it being submissive, I don't think it's indicative of laying or not.

Is the smoke effecting your daylight? We haven't had much but we have been fogged in like crazy... it causes my birds to go up a little earlier, which means less feed and water consumption going into making eggs.

 

[micstrachan]

Oh no! Where do you see the parasite damage? These feathers have been raked around the run a lot, so I thought they were just damage from that.

Here is my Barred Rock right now, but she’s dust bathing, so it’s hard to see her.

Here she is last weekend...

I had moved my flock into 22% protein starter/grower, but @Kiki’s girls got me thinking maybe their nutritional requirements for laying weren’t being met, so now I mix it with an 17% protein layer crumble at 50/50, for final protein content of 20.5%. Oyster shell is always available free choice.

Here is my Buckeye right now:

And here she was a couple weeks ago...

My Black Australorp (age 2.5 years) has never, ever molted, and has a pretty tattered feathers with some shiny new black ones mixed in. Here she is right now:

I don’t see her feathers anywhere, and she is still laying.

Finally, here are two of my three active molters right now under my neighbor’s tree:

There is a huge thread on Margo, who isn’t done molting yet.

 

[micstrachan]

I forgot to mention, yes, my flock is going to bed earlier now, but the daylight is shortening quickly. The sunlight here has an orange haze to it, too.

 

[micstrachan]

Oops. That’s 19.5% protein.

 

[coach723]

There is an enormous range of 'normal' in molting, and I have had birds who appeared to miss a molt on occasion, they look ragged until they eventually do. I have one that is finished molting already, several mid molt, and some that haven't started yet this year. As long as everyone seems normal and happy I wouldn't worry about it too much. Molts can vary between very hard and very soft, and everything in between. My run has feathers that look just like yours laying around, I have no external parasites at all. Some of mine eat feathers sometimes and they get plenty of protein (I also feed flock raiser). I don't worry about the random feather eating as long as no picking/bullying is going on. The overall picture of behaviors and health is as important as the little details, I don't see anything obviously alarming in your pictures.

 

[micstrachan]

Thanks. I’m not really too alarmed. I was sort of hoping Ruby & Bridge (two in question) are just slowly molting, as I’m not sure either is laying. Eggs are not a primary reason for me having chickens, but I pay attention to it as an indicator health.

 

[coach723]

My egg numbers are down now too. Between August heat, molt and the shortening daylight hours, this time of year can get lower egg numbers. Plus I have some older birds and those that still do lay tend to take more time off. I'll be adding chicks next year, I add every other year usually, and my eggs will go back up.

 

[micstrachan]

Well, Ruby (Buckeye) IS indeed laying after all. She laid one of these, but I’m not sure which one. I would guess hers is the chalky, pinkish one with thin shell , though Millie’s (Speckled Sussex) eggs are sometimes pink and she was the other one in the box, so who knows?