One of my chickens did not molt last year.

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

I had some molt in the dead of winter and have to live in the house for a week. I had some start molting as early as July. But this girl, my Sapphire Gem still has not molted. She will be two years old May 1. Her feathers look terrible even though she is normally such a beautiful girl. She stopped laying eggs approximately three weeks ago. Prior to this, she never missed a day from the day she first started lying. It is easy to tell which eggs are hers because they are absolutely enormous. Is there something perhaps I need to do?

 

[SmiYa0126]

I also have a hen that hasn't molted at all, she looks terrible, but still laying.

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

I also have a hen that hasn't molted at all, she looks terrible, but still laying.

I’m going to start giving her 2 tablespoons of mealworms all to herself every night. Maybe she needs more protein just to get the process started? I will let you know if anything happens!

 

[aart]

I’m going to start giving her 2 tablespoons of mealworms all to herself every night. Maybe she needs more protein just to get the process started? I will let you know if anything happens!

Not sure feeding her all the fat(protein, yes, but filled with fat too) will help start a molt.
What is her regular diet?
A long as she is eating/drinking/pooping/moving around OK, I'd not worry at all.

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

Not sure feeding her all the fat(protein, yes, but filled with fat too) will help start a molt.
What is her regular diet?
A long as she is eating/drinking/pooping/moving around OK, I'd not worry at all.

She free ranges, has unlimited layer pellets, occasionally gets some barley fodder, and I give too many treats of scratch and meal worms. She also very often sneaks in and gets the goose food which is Mazuri breeder, a small amount of corn and some all flock. I didn’t even realize that meal worms were that fatty! She does look and act healthy otherwise. Is this normal to skip a molt? Will she likely molt next year?

 

[aart]

Is this normal to skip a molt?

It's not particularly common but also not unprecedented.

Will she likely molt next year?

Maybe.

 

[Apis mellifera]

My hens dont molt every year or have such a mild molt that I hardly notice. Maybe it has to do with the health or breed of chickens.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I had 2 Blue Wyandottes the other year that did not molt. One went broody right before her 2nd birthday & then molted. The other kept going right in to summer & I found her dead in front of the nest boxes one day.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

I had 2 Blue Wyandottes the other year that did not molt. One went broody right before her 2nd birthday & then molted. The other kept going right in to summer & I found her dead in front of the nest boxes one day.

My chickens that skipped a molt their 2nd year both ended up succumbing to reproductive disease the following year. I definitely think they need the break from laying a molt affords.