Questions about Molting,....help????

[Up-the-Creek]

I was wondering, when do chickens molt?
I have 10 hens who are a year old and apparently they are molting because there is feathers all over the coop, and one, as of today, has lost all of her tail feathers

. It is a mess! Anyway,..I have been told that they only molt in late fall, is this true? If this is true,..what could be wrong with my girls??? I have checked them for mites and seen nothing, they look very healthy outside the feather problem. Also, they aren't laying like they were. I am only getting one to two eggs a day now, where I was getting at least seven. It really sounds like a molt to me,..but I am a new chicken owner. Can they molt here in April??? What is everyone's opinion??? Thanks!!!

 

[Up-the-Creek]

Anyone????

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

Mine are doing the same thing! They are looking a bit grungy, and are missing some feathers... and the egg production has dropped significantly... I was wondering if it might be a molt as well, but also don't know much about it, these are my first chickens, and they are also about a year old.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Check these sites. They give good info on molting.

http://msucares.com/poultry/management/poultry_feathers.html

http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/lvstk2/mf2308.pdf

Note in the K State site that decreased lighting causes molting. If you decrease your artificial light at any time in the year you can induce molting.