Molting?

[Us Guys]

I am a first time chicken owner. I "inhereted" these girls last March and have them in a tractor. The problem is that around August one of them decided to stop laying, then the other three followed. Have not had any eggs since October. One of them started to lose feathers around the same time, and they other three tooks their turns one by one. I did some research and the food is fine and they have none of the issues that are related to feather loss. By the way, I live in NM so the winters are not bad at all. So my question happens to be, is this normal? or am I over reacting? Thanx for any input.

 

[nakstk]

Nope not over reacting at all. But you are correct they are molting. My Speckled Sussex did the same thing. Stopped laying in Oct and dropped their feathers one by one. They looked like little porcupines. Mine just started to lay again. Adding extra protein to their diet will help the development of the feathers.

 

[Us Guys]

Thank You. It does make me feel better to know this is normal.

 

[nakstk]

Here is a phone pic of a few of my girls during their molt.

 

[Us Guys]

wow. my girls are looking pretty good in comparison. Isn't is dangerous for them to molt at this time of year, when it is getting colder. (we are hitting 32 at night now)

 

[nakstk]

The shorter daylight triggers the molting. I have read on here that when the leaves start to change and fall off the trees the feathers will start to fall off the chickens. Chickens have been molting around this time of year for as long as chickens have been around. As long as they have a dry draft free place to hide in they are fine. This is only the start of my 17th month as a chicken mom..... I mean owner. I have learned that these things are tough, cold hardy and extremely amusing. I have read some very interesting and informative things in the forums. The one that really stands out was the Roo that got hit by a car, he was bad off and had a broken beak. The gal wasn't sure he would even make it through the night. Its now been just over year and he is beautiful he is even a father now. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/592958/car-vs-rooster-can-he-be-saved There is the link if you wanted to check it out. There is tons of stuff to learn here. Good luck