molting question - middle of winter??

[akaxo]

i've done a bit of research on molting before posting this and it all seem to say they molt at the end of summer generally? one of our girls appears to be starting to molt. she's losing feathers from all over her over the last day or two. she seems pretty healthy though have just had a bit of a scare with her but a week of antibiotics seems to have sorted that out.

the thing is it's the middle of winter here and we're about to head into the coldest bit when we are likely to actually to get snow on the ground etc. i'm worried she'll get too cold if she loses too many feathers. i suggested to my fiancée that she crochet her a jersey if she gets bald but she just looked at me like i was mental

she's an ex battery farm hen so has most likely never experienced cold weather before now. i've seen photos on here of hens near bald in molt, is this always the case when it happens or do they replace feathers at about the same rate they lose them? but i guess the main question is do i need to worry or do anything about it if she keeps losing feathers and goes bald in spots in this weather?

thanks

 

[Ridgerunner]

These sites might help you.

Mississippi State describes molting
http://msucares.com/poultry/management/poultry_feathers.html

Kansas State feather loss
http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/lvstk2/mf2308.pdf

Diferent things can cause a molt. One standard cause is the days getting shorter in the fall. But stress can cause it at any time. Going without water, predator attack, moving to a new location, many different things can trigger it. Hopefully those links will help.

 

[akaxo]

thanks heaps for that. the first link looks useful for all sorts of info, bookmarked, cheers.

i'm thinking maybe it's brought on by a mix of the shorter days and being a bit sick and stressed over the last few weeks. she hasn't laid since she was sick about two and a half weeks ago now and none of the other possible causes are an issues here (no predators, constant food and water supply etc). it's hard to tell where she is losing the most feathers from as there's no bald spots yet though. she's top of the pecking order so no one is picking on her. she's also the only one we've got that's her colour so we know the feathers round the place are hers.

i just worry that she'll get too cold if she keeps losing feathers is all haha