Molting & Egg-Laying

[cleoandtheo]

Okay, so I read on another thread that sometimes when a hen is molting, she stops laying. It seems that one or two of my hens are molting -- it's hard to tell exactly -- it's the downy feathers underneath that they are losing -- they look the same on top. One of them is definitely my EE -- and she has stopped laying also.

The other thread said it's a lack of protein. I can fix that. But how long does it take before she starts to lay again??? I miss her blue eggs! I get depressed on every trip to the nesting box....

 

[pgpoultry]

hens can stop laying for a month or more in the moult, but some hens don't stop at all (I've got an old Warren who is bald on her back and is still laying daily).

They vary a lot and what applies to one hen may not apply to another,

sandie

 

[Happy Chooks]

Last year it took mine 3 1/2 months to start laying again.

 

[dsqard]

I have read on here that you can increase their protien intake to help the moult along. I don't know how much that might speed up the process though.