Molt complete--how long before egglaying starts again?

[gophert]

One of my Barred Rocks starting molting around 11/16. Her molt now appears complete and she looks great--except that she has a pale comb and is not laying. We were away for a couple of weeks so I don't know exactly how long she has looked "done"--I know she still looked a bit molty when we left on 12/20. How long should it take before she starts laying again? I ask in part because we think the birds have worms, so I wonder if the molt is the problem or the worms are. (One other bird is still laying faithfully. The other has stopped, but now she has entered molt.)

 

[abbylane35]

My chickens tend to slow or stop laying in the winter months. I put a light source in their coop to extend their day. I have the light come on at like 4 am... I am getting eggs regularly from many hens now. It took a few weeks for them to get into the swing of things, but it might not hurt to try!

As far as the worms, I don't know what to tell you about that...I've never had an issue with worms.

Good luck!

 

[Happy Chooks]

It's hard to diagnose worms when they are molting as they have similar symptoms.

As for how long until they start laying again depends on the hen. I have one that just started back up after 2 months, 8 days. Others haven't laid in 4 months and haven't started back up yet.