Molting

[earlybird10842]

I'm going to sound totally ignorant, but I don't know a thing about molting. I do know that hens stop laying and lose feathers, but I don't know what feathers they lose (if not all), how long it takes, and what triggers it. How can I identify a Molt? How often does it happen? Are there other reasons, such as cold, that can stop egglaying that are more likely than a molt when nobody appears to be molting? Thanks!

 

[terryg]

The first molt usually occurs when the hen is about 16 to 18 months old, which usually coincides with late summer and early fall. The molt is when the old feathers fall out and new ones replace them. Hens have 8500 or so feathers. Some chickens seem to molt all of them at once and others molt in patches. It can take a couple of months for the molt cycle to be completed. During this time most hens will stop laying, as they need all of the protein and minerals in their diet to do to feather making. Not all hens, even those of the same age, will molt at the same time. The poorest layers will molt first and take the longest. Stress can induce a molt, and in fact, some commercial producers starve their hens to start the molt (illegal in some countries as this is cruel.) I'll be posting a FAQ soon with photos, etc. In the meanwhile, if you do a search on my blog for "molt" you'll see lots about this natural occurrence.

 

[RedDrgn]

You can identify a molt from all of the feathers that are going to be laying around, particularly in the coop and anywhere that the chickens tend to hang out the most. Once a chicken is an adult, it's pretty much an annual thing (usually late summer through autumn), assuming they're healthy and well nourished. Like Terry said, stress/malnutrition can induce a molt at any time.

How long a molt lasts depends on how hard (e.g. does the chicken blow all its feathers at once or is it a gradual, less noticeable thing) the molt is and that may vary from year to year. The length of the molt, again, depends on health and nutrition as well as whether or not it's a hard molt. How severely and long it affects egg production goes back to how hard the molt is. Usually, a protein in diet boost during a molt will give them a bit of a boost.

Our roo just started leaving feathers all over the place last week and our DOM (one of our best layers) started this week. Neither has bald spots or visible pin feathers (yet) and she's still laying, so we'll just have to see how it progresses. The four other girls have showed no signs of a molt at this time.

 

[earlybird10842]

Last autumn, two of our hens had bare patches on their back. I beleive they were still laying. As the feathers started to come back in they stopped laying, and didn't resume for what seemed like the longest time after their feathers came back in. They didn't seem to lose feathers anywhere else, Although maybe we just didn't notice. Would this be a molt?

 

[gratzalk]

When they molt, do they lose all the feathers and hop around "bald" for some time? I'm obviously new at this. And, I also have a hen that stayed in her nesting box (not even laying) for 6-8 months. Only out on occasion. She came out for about 1 1/2 months so I was happy she was back with the crowd. Now, the last two weeks, she's gone back to her box and stays there most of the time. Any suggestions?

 

[earlybird10842]

I'm new, but to me, that sounds like a broody hen

 

[Kts Chickens]

I noticed yesterday that one of my EEs has lost her fluffy feathers on her bottom around a below her vent. (not the tail feathers) At first I thought she might have been hurt by something. The skin doesn't seem to be irritated or anything, just bald. It looked like some of the feathers were starting to come back, but most of the area was just empty. My hens are not quite 6 months old yet. They have only been laying since late June. Is she molting or is this something different?

 

[terryg]

Hi Kts Chickens -It's rare that molting starts around the vent, but you might not have noticed it in other areas. I have a FAQ with photos of different types of feather loss here:
http://hencam.com/faq/bare-butts-feather-loss-and-feather-picking/ It might simply be that she's a good layer. My best layers often have bare bottoms (there are photos on the FAQ.)

And I have a FAQ about molting here: http://hencam.com/faq/the-molt

You'll probably recognize what's going on after reading and seeing those FAQs.

 

[earlybird10842]

our chicken's rear went bald, and I assumed it was a molt. Probably we just didn't notice the first part of the molt.

 

[ChickenCrazy8]

Hi Kts Chickens -It's rare that molting starts around the vent, but you might not have noticed it in other areas. I have a FAQ with photos of different types of feather loss here:
http://hencam.com/faq/bare-butts-feather-loss-and-feather-picking/ It might simply be that she's a good layer. My best layers often have bare bottoms (there are photos on the FAQ.)

And I have a FAQ about molting here: http://hencam.com/faq/the-molt

You'll probably recognize what's going on after reading and seeing those FAQs.

I just want to say thanks so much for putting the time into writing your FAQ about molting. It was super helpful!!!!