Molting question

[lilmarie84]

This is my first year with chickens and I have a small flock of 8 hens 5 of them are my original flock and 3 of them I got from a friend and they are a year older than the ones that I started with. Now being this is my first flock I have never gone through a molting season. Out of the 3 older ones the leghorn and the barred rock have stopped laying and of course their feathers are a bit messy looking right now which I understand both are normal. My questions is aimed more towards the one and only mixed breed that I have don't ask what it is I just know that the rooster that fathered her was an easter egger but she is still laying but she does have some out placed feathers as tho she was molting and I was wondering if it was possible for her to be molting and still be laying or is it just a matter of time for her production to stop for the duration on the molt?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I have never had a hen continue to lay through the molt. Some say they have. I have a few that still haven't molted yet. Last year some didn't start until December. I'm going to have at least one or two that will be a bit cold as they molt a bit later than the rest.

 

[lilmarie84]

Mine shouldn't have too much of an issue being cold here during the winter right now cuz we live in the bottom part of the louisiana and the weather here don't know if it wants to be warm or cold around here.

How long does the molting usually last for a hen?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Mine shouldn't have too much of an issue being cold here during the winter right now cuz we live in the bottom part of the louisiana and the weather here don't know if it wants to be warm or cold around here.

How long does the molting usually last for a hen?

Molting seems to last anywhere from 6 weeks to a couple of months. Harder molters generally are quicker.