Molting or sickness?!

Skronny

In the Brooder
Nov 22, 2022
2
1
12
Minnesota
Hello all,

Please bear with the long post! I am a newer-ish chicken owner, have a group of 10 chickens of several breeds (rhode island red, buff Orpington, australorp, barred rock, gold star), all approx 20 months old. They were fantastic egg layers until early/mid august when their production started to slow down. Seemed like a few of them might have been starting a molt, but if it was it was a slow molt. Also thought maybe they were dealing with lice, fleas, other parasites? Wasn’t sure so just played it out bc they otherwise seemed healthy.

Then a month or so ago they started pulling all of their feed pellets out of my PVC pipe feeder when I would fill it up. Then most recently (after adjusting the feeder so they can’t pull out feed) they have basically almost stopped eating AND drinking has even slowed down too (however confounding factor is we have had snow. Are they using snow for drinking water? And are they eating food pellets on the coop floor that they pulled out of the feeder?). Have a couple with pale combs. Quite a few are now definitely molting, though again a slow molt.

In spite of all of this, their behavior seems pretty normal. Not lethargic or anything else in that vein. They quickly eat any scratch or snacks I provide. Egg laying hasn’t completely stopped. Currently giving them a layer feed still. Did buy a new bag recently to see if it was something with the feed.

Can molting cause this kind of extreme change in eating/drinking, combined with the stress of early very cold weather in MN? Or are they sick with something? Help! I’m flummoxed!
 
The amount of time it takes to complete molt can vary a lot from bird to bird and from year to year. At 20 months this is likely their first real adult molt. There are lots of estimates for molt times, anywhere from 3 to 16 weeks. Most fall somewhere in there, some may take longer. They can have soft molts where you don't see much going on (except loose feathers around the coop)and everything is very gradual, or hard molts where feathers seem to blow off all at once leaving bare spots, and pinfeathers all over them looking like a porcupine. They often don't eat as well during molt, or get very picky, it can make them feel kind of awful. Upping their protein can help with feather regrowth, it takes a lot of protein to grow new feathers. Changing to a feather growth formula or a flock raiser in the 18% protein range can help (most layer feed is 16%). Have oystershell available in a separate feeder for those that are still laying. Giving treats that are higher in protein can help too, scrambled egg, canned tuna, etc. It's a good idea to check their body condition during molt, make sure they aren't losing too much weight if they aren't eating well. But they can also be testy about being handled, new feathers coming in can be sensitive and uncomfortable. Combs also get paler during molt, or when they stop laying due to the shortened daylight hours of winter, they will color up again when hormones start flowing again and they are getting ready to resume laying.
Here are a few articles on molting, the first has lots of good info but has become laden with ads, which is a bit irritating.
https://www.wideopenpets.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-molting-chickens/
https://www.thehenhousecollection.com/blog/chicken-molting/
http://extension.msstate.edu/content/molting-laying-hens
 
Thanks that’s helpful. I guess at this point I’m most concerned about decreased water intake. Can that be a symptom of molting or does that indicate something else could be causing problems?
 
If your temperature is 40 or below, chickens don't need to drink that often.

Molting chickens generally look sick only difference is there missing feathers and they lose there appetite for a few days.
 
As long as they are behaving pretty normally, droppings look pretty good, I wouldn't worry. Just keep an eye on them. Even in the dead of winter in cold climates they usually do fine, as long as they can get out of prevailing winds. Molt just has to run it's course. It will be an annual thing from now on.
 

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