Molting

[3forfree]

my 5 are molting now, they are at 11 months old. Egg production has been good up until now. I was getting 4-5 every day, now I'm lucky to get 1 or 2 each day. I'm going to try the cat food, and also install a light on a timer.

 

[kseabythec]

This is my first winter with chickens (my first year, actually) and I have two girls molting right now. They were hatched in early February, so they are about 10 months old. They are really getting naked and it's cold...do I worry about them dying from cold? Seems an odd time to lose feathers...but I guess they've been molting since the dawn of the chicken and survived thus far. I just worry about my girls. I have made them a nice house with shavings (which they are using to lay instead of their nesting boxes, for some reason), but due to the absence of poop in it, guessing they are not using it at night when it's really chilly out. We live in central Texas, so cold enough to freeze but just barely. Thoughts and suggestions are greatly welcomed!

 

[mrballance]

At what age do chickens start molting?? What should I expect? Never been through a molting process before!!

I have two that just started. They are 7 months old. I have six hens total, I hope they will be ok in the cold. I don't heat my coop and it is in a corner part of a big shed, That is use for other equipment. No wind can get to them so they will have to cuddle to stay warm. LOL

 

[Happy Chooks]

This is my first winter with chickens (my first year, actually) and I have two girls molting right now. They were hatched in early February, so they are about 10 months old. They are really getting naked and it's cold...do I worry about them dying from cold? Seems an odd time to lose feathers...but I guess they've been molting since the dawn of the chicken and survived thus far. I just worry about my girls. I have made them a nice house with shavings (which they are using to lay instead of their nesting boxes, for some reason), but due to the absence of poop in it, guessing they are not using it at night when it's really chilly out. We live in central Texas, so cold enough to freeze but just barely. Thoughts and suggestions are greatly welcomed!

They will be fine. They snuggle up with the others and keep warm. No need to worry about them.

 

[Bellacoby]

Hi All,

I have 3 pullets (its almost January) and when I got them in mid-October they were supposedly 15-22 weeks old. So they could be 6 or 7 months old now. They seem happy, healthy, etc… NO EGGS yet… and they get plenty to eat and look fine. They don't seem stressed either. However, in the last 2 weeks I am noticing lots of feathers in the pen/coop. No bare spots on them that I can see.

Could they be molting already? Is there anything to do about getting them to lay or just be patient? The days are short now and I am not adding light since they have not laid eggs yet and I have read that could be a problem if they haven't laid yet to "force" them to lay….

Thoughts? Am I worrying too much? No drafts in their coop, their poop looks fine, and they are eating plenty...

Any suggestions are welcomed!

Thx

 

[HoskinsGirls]

I have four hens and three of the four are molting and not producing at all. My leghorn is doing great and laying daily. Does this mean then that the other three won't be as good of layers as my leghorn?

By the way, I got my girls in the Spring in March and they started laying around September.

Thanks

 

[3forfree]

my 5 are molting now, they are at 11 months old. Egg production has been good up until now. I was getting 4-5 every day, now I'm lucky to get 1 or 2 each day. I'm going to try the cat food, and also install a light on a timer.

Nothing helped, I still only get one or none each day. We had a warm up this week had temps into the mid to high 30's much better than the -16's we had the week before. I had a two day total of 5 eggs during this warm spell.

 

[stephysteph11]

Molting usually takes place 1 year + or - from the time they start to lay.  Generally chickens will lay for more than a year, say they start at 5 months & molt at 18 months etc.  The longer they lay without molting, the better the egg layer they supposedly are.  Some environmental factors can force molt in chickens also.  HTH

What type of environmental?

 

[autumn123]

One of my little hens (about 12 mos old) is molting, but seems to be having a harder time than the others did. She is acting different - wanting to sit in the nest or litter not on roost at night; less appetite; just sits around, looks weak coming out in the morning. The other hens acted no different (except no eggs) during molt. She seemed healthy before molt, very productive layer. Could something else be wrong?

 

[Happy Chooks]

One of my little hens (about 12 mos old) is molting, but seems to be having a harder time than the others did. She is acting different - wanting to sit in the nest or litter not on roost at night; less appetite; just sits around, looks weak coming out in the morning. The other hens acted no different (except no eggs) during molt. She seemed healthy before molt, very productive layer. Could something else be wrong?

Molting can do that to them. I'd check her for lice/mites though just to be sure.