Oldies,,,,still goodies?

[squirtnlex]

Ok,,,I have a female leghorn,,,,she looks short, white and fat.
And 5 Rhode Island Reds,,,all but 1 look good, the last, her feathers look bad,,not as covered as the others, just like the white,,,,not so pretty this year.... and no tail feathers, thou not on the bottom of the pecking order....I'm in southeastern Pa,,,is molting over?
Rooster looking (and acting) as ornery as EVER!! Gotta love that boy!
Any ideas on how to keep the girls out of the nesting boxes at night?
Im thinking they will be 4 in the spring....free range, fed Layena grain...do I supplement them with anything else? Thanks, me

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I've still got one in the middle of a hard molt. I wish she'd have done this sooner, but every chicken molts in their own way, at their own time. So, Suzy is still looking pretty scruffy right now.

Free ranging is a great supplement! I give mine more sunflower seed, during a molt. It seems to help.

Are your nest boxes lower than your roosting perch? Is there anything your chickens might not like about your roost? Are you using a 2x4 or something else? Is it stable? No drafts? Far enough from the wall? You might want to tell us a little more about your set up.

You can also try going in at night and placing them on their roost to sleep, until it becomes a habit.