Molting?

[sunshine23]

My girls are almost 26 weeks and I was wondering when the first molt happens

Also, at what age are they likely to get broody?

 

[Ridgerunner]

They've already molted a couple of times. They normally go through two juvenile molts before they reach adulthood. You may have noticed around 8 weeks and again around 12 or 13 weeks when there were feathers everywhere.

When will they go through their first adult molt? It could be anytime, but I suspect under normal conditons, probably not until the days get shorter this fall. These two links may help you. I think taken together they have great information on molting.

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

Your first question was easier than the broody question. The answer is, no telling. It somewhat depends on the breed. Some production breeds have had a lot of the broodiness bred out of them. Rhode Island Reds are an easy example. That does not mean none will ever go broody, just that it is more unlikely one will go broody. Some breeds, like Silkies and Cochins, are known to go broody at the drop of a hat. That does not mean that every one will go broody at any time. Whether they go broody at all or when is purely up to the individual chicken. When the hormones kick in, they will go broody. Until the hormones get active, they won't. There is nothing that has been shown to cause the hormones to kick in. There are different theories and some seem to help sometimes, but not consistently for everyone. Some pullets go broody shortly after they start to lay. Some hens never go broody.

 

[GermanChick]

Mine have gone through a "mini molt" around 9 month. They only lost their neck and tail feathers. I was surprised by this since I always thought the first molt would happen when they are like 16 month or so, the next near after they hatched. But some board members here assured me that this mini molt is totally normal. They look kinda funny, like mini turkeys with their round shape and skinny neck