molting chickens

[pooh731]

I have 2 molting chickens it has been getting down to 49 to 56 degrees at night. Should i have a warming light for them at night

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

What kind of coop setup do you have for them? If you have a traditional coop that doesn't have the wind blowing on them and they can huddle together inside they should be fine.

If their coop is very open-like with fierce wind blowing through then I might be persuaded to give them a light. I have had both kinds of coops and let me tell you it makes a huge difference in the survivability of weather. Make sure there is no chance of fire if you do.

Generally the large fowl are just fine with no heat lamps if they have no wind on them...also very important is that the coop is dry and well ventilated (airflow above the chickens but not blowing right on them).

Also if you give them a bit more protein during the molt it helps them grow their feathers. You can give scrambled egg, unmedicated chick starter (with added oyster shells for calcium), meat scraps, etc.