Molting hens.

[Themellowyellows]

Hi everone!

This is my chickens second summer, and im starting to see feathers on the ground... Here in nj it gets really cold, we put a heater above them on really cold days, but now that there loosing there feathers - how will they not freeze? Aren't they going to be really cold? Will they molt everwhere?

Thanks X

 

[lagrange chicks]

Mine are molting also, hoping they are done before it snows.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

How cold is it right now? How cold does it get there in the winter?

 

[SilverBirds]

What's the current temperature where you are? How cold does it get in the winter? Most should be done molting by the time it starts to really get cold.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Here in nj it gets really cold, we put a heater above them on really cold days,

As long as the coop is dry (low humidity) and a breeze is not hitting them on the roost most chickens are OK down to around -20 Fahrenheit (-30 C). Below that they can have problems. The one problem with that is that the combs and wattles can be frostbitten at higher temperatures. The ones with huge combs and wattles are at more risk. The higher the humidity in the coop the higher the risk. This might be interesting to you.

Cold Weather Poultry Housing and Care | BackYard Chickens - Learn How to Raise Chickens

Frostbite is hard to talk about because there are so many variables involved. Growing up in East Tennessee many decades ago we had temperatures drop to -8 Fahrenheit one time. Some single combed chickens slept in trees. Those trees were out of the wind, the humidity was really low, and they had great ventilation in the trees. Those chickens did not get frostbite. But some people on here have frostbite problems at a warmer temperature.

but now that there loosing there feathers - how will they not freeze? Aren't they going to be really cold? Will they molt everwhere?

This article talks about general feather loss but has some good information on molting.

https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs...ather-loss-in-small-poultry-flocks_MF2308.pdf

Fast molters lose feathers in clumps. Clumps so big that you can see bare skin. Slow molters lose feathers so gradually you can't tell they are molting by looking at them. You know they are molting because you see the feathers flying around.

Now to your specific questions. Before they were domesticated chickens evolved to handle the environment without human help. They evolved in areas that had pretty cold winters. The pioneers in New Jersey and further north kept chickens through their winters. They did not have heaters and such to keep chickens warm in winter. Chickens were domesticated thousands of years ago, long before there was electricity available to heat them. Those chickens molted in the fall also.

We house them in coops and runs so we limit where they can go to get out of a breeze or bad weather. We need to provide them a way to get out of wind or weather. We need to provide the best ventilation we can to keep humidity down. But given a little help they can manage very well, even when molting.

 

[Themellowyellows]

How cold is it right now? How cold does it get there in the winter?

In the winters like 20-30 sometimes less at night.

 

[Themellowyellows]

What's the current temperature where you are? How cold does it get in the winter? Most should be done molting by the time it starts to really get cold.

20-30, less at night.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

In the winters like 20-30 sometimes less at night.

That’s not cold at all for winter and you certainly do not need heaters for those temperatures. My chickens start the fall with bald patches every annual molt. They are all back to being fully feathered by the end of October beginning of November. It has gotten as cold as -26F here with -50F wind chills (usually 2-4 weeks of subzero temperatures). I don’t use the overhead heat plates unless it goes below -10F and that is more to help prevent their combs from getting frostbite.

 

[rosemarythyme]

20-30, not 20-30 below correct? Not cold for a chicken, even one that's still recovering from molt, and no need for heat. Good ventilation will help with frostbite risk.

 

[Themellowyellows]

As long as the coop is dry (low humidity) and a breeze is not hitting them on the roost most chickens are OK down to around -20 Fahrenheit (-30 C). Below that they can have problems. The one problem with that is that the combs and wattles can be frostbitten at higher temperatures. The ones with huge combs and wattles are at more risk. The higher the humidity in the coop the higher the risk. This might be interesting to you.

Cold Weather Poultry Housing and Care | BackYard Chickens - Learn How to Raise Chickens

Frostbite is hard to talk about because there are so many variables involved. Growing up in East Tennessee many decades ago we had temperatures drop to -8 Fahrenheit one time. Some single combed chickens slept in trees. Those trees were out of the wind, the humidity was really low, and they had great ventilation in the trees. Those chickens did not get frostbite. But some people on here have frostbite problems at a warmer temperature.


This article talks about general feather loss but has some good information on molting.

https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs...ather-loss-in-small-poultry-flocks_MF2308.pdf

Fast molters lose feathers in clumps. Clumps so big that you can see bare skin. Slow molters lose feathers so gradually you can't tell they are molting by looking at them. You know they are molting because you see the feathers flying around.

Now to your specific questions. Before they were domesticated chickens evolved to handle the environment without human help. They evolved in areas that had pretty cold winters. The pioneers in New Jersey and further north kept chickens through their winters. They did not have heaters and such to keep chickens warm in winter. Chickens were domesticated thousands of years ago, long before there was electricity available to heat them. Those chickens molted in the fall also.

We house them in coops and runs so we limit where they can go to get out of a breeze or bad weather. We need to provide them a way to get out of wind or weather. We need to provide the best ventilation we can to keep humidity down. But given a little help they can manage very well, even when molting.

Well said! Thanks! Is there anything I could do to prevent frostbite? I have a plastic over there run, and it makes it warm there. Odiviously I wont be letting them out in snow and rain.