OK PaulaJoann I will

[rancher hicks]

Can someone explain a molt? When it happens and how to tell if my chickens are in one. My rooster lost a lot of feathers last fall but if my hens went through one it went unnoticed. I don't recall a lack of eggs. Maybe a lull, but nothing worse than now with this cold weather.

 

[speckledhen]

There are slow molters and fast molters and some who quit laying for months and look naked and others who blow tons of feathers, grow the replacements in really quickly and only miss a couple weeks of egg production. They do mini molts their first year as they get adult plumage, but you may not notice those much. The BIG ONE comes around 18-20 months. I find that my older girls tend to cease production longer in their second and third big molts. They just replace old ratty feathers for nice, new shiny ones every year.