Quiz: Is Your Flock Ready for Molt Season?

[BYC Project Manager]

Feathers are about to fly! Molting season is one of the most natural — and sometimes stressful — times for your flock. Chickens shed their old feathers and grow new ones, which takes a lot of energy and often changes their behavior. But how ready are you to guide your hens through this feathery transition?

Take this quiz to test your knowledge and see if your flock is truly prepared for molt season!

Questions​

1. When do most chickens begin their annual molt?
a) In the spring
b) In the late summer to fall
c) In the middle of winter
d) Anytime they feel like it

2. What usually happens to egg production during molt?
a) It stays the same
b) It increases
c) It decreases or stops altogether
d) Eggs become double-yolked

3. What’s the main reason chickens molt?
a) To look pretty for rooster admiration
b) To replace old, worn-out feathers with new ones
c) To take a seasonal break from laying
d) To prepare for migration

4. During molt, what nutrient is especially important to increase in their diet?
a) Calcium
b) Protein
c) Fiber
d) Carbohydrates

5. True or False: You should handle molting chickens often to help them stay calm.

6. What is one sign that your chicken is molting and not sick?
a) Droopy wings and pale comb
b) Missing feathers and pin feathers growing in
c) Lethargy and constant sitting
d) Watery eyes

7. How long does a typical molt last?
a) 1–2 weeks
b) 4–12 weeks
c) 6 months
d) Until the chicken decides otherwise

8. Which of the following should you avoid feeding too much during molt?
a) Scrambled eggs
b) Sunflower seeds
c) Corn and scratch grains
d) High-protein feed

9. What is a “hard molt”?
a) When a chicken loses just a few feathers at a time
b) When a chicken loses a large amount of feathers quickly
c) When a chicken refuses to molt
d) A rare condition where feathers grow backwards

10. Why might chickens seem more irritable during molt?
a) Their new pin feathers are sensitive and painful if touched
b) They’re jealous of the other hens
c) They’re going through “henopause”
d) They’re just cranky by nature

Answers​

1. b) In the late summer to fall
2. c) It decreases or stops altogether
3. b) To replace old, worn-out feathers with new ones
4. b) Protein
5. False — avoid handling, pin feathers are tender
6. b) Missing feathers and pin feathers growing in
7. b) 4–12 weeks
8. c) Corn and scratch grains (too much lowers protein intake)
9. b) When a chicken loses a large amount of feathers quickly
10. a) Their new pin feathers are sensitive and painful if touched

​

How did you do?​

• 9–10 correct: Your flock is in expert hands - molting season doesn’t stand a chance!
• 6–8 correct: You’re on the right track, just sharpen up on a few details.
• 0–5 correct: Don’t worry - molting can be tricky, but now you’ve got the knowledge to prep your hens for feather regrowth!

Molting may look messy, but it’s a beautiful reminder that your flock is resilient and constantly renewing. With your care, those bald spots will soon be covered in glossy new feathers — and your hens will strut back into the coop looking fresher than ever!

So tell us: what’s your best tip or trick for helping chickens through molt season? And don't forget to share your results in the comments.

 

[talkinboutchickens]

10 correct, was honestly not expecting that lol.

Only one of my babies has started to molt, my Easter egger who now looks like an Araucana because of her rumplessness

 

[Mrs. K]

My rooster has lost his tail so he looks funny walking around, but the new ones are growing in all over.

I like a hard molt, I know what it is, and they tend to grow back fast too. I have opened the coop to what looks like an explosion of feathers, I have thought that they have been killed, only to see them looking like they are next door to death without a feather on them.

Thing is - I have had them molt in August - January. Some start early and some start late.

Mrs K

 

[Perris]

So tell us: what’s your best tip or trick for helping chickens through molt season?

Don't fuss if they are not doing much or eating much during their moult, just leave them alone.

Jenni and Winkler The Biology of Moult in Birds 2020 deals with the subject in huge detail. Chapter 3 is the core of the book, is 90 pages long, and deals with the processes of feather growth, physiology, energetics, and control during the moult.

I precis here what, from that chapter, I think it helps us as chicken keepers to know. Feathers grow at a similar rate both day and night, and the growth rate is almost linear apart from at the very start and the very end. Feathers and associated material (such as the sheath on a pin feather) are 90-95% protein.

Besides the protein synthesis for new feathers, whole body protein turnover is greatly accelerated. The whole body is impacted, not just the feathers. Comb, wattle, oviduct, testes change size, colour, shape during a full moult.

A protein-poor diet depresses feather growth rate and quality, and the immune reaction. The relationship between moult and immunity are described as 'somewhat bewildering' (p. 107). Feather quality is the first thing to suffer from adverse environmental conditions.

Moult is accompanied by a substantial expansion of the vascular system and blood volume, and an increased body water content and turnover. So you may have to refill waterers more at this time of year, and don't fret over watery droppings.

Also, they say that the prevalent notion that moult is costly is not well founded. Typically it daily demands less than a third of the extra energy that is needed to produce an egg, even for a rapidly moulting small passerine. Free living birds clearly offset a large part of the costs of moult by reducing other energy expenditures, e.g. locomotion.

"Paradoxically, natural moult, while apparently very costly and very inefficient, results in a phase of minimal energy expenditure in free living birds, at least those examined so far. This is due to the many mechanisms that compensate for the costs of moult and because birds normally do 'nothing else' or are unable to do 'anything else' during a fairly rapid moult. In turn, this relative inactivity during moult is probably caused by the many non-energetic costs of moult, such as impaired flight, greatly reduced maximum oxygen consumption and impaired plumage function (waterproofing, display, insulation etc.), all with potentially negative consequences for survival."

So if, while moulting, your birds are just standing in a quiet spot doing nothing and eating very little and drinking a lot, leave them alone. Interventions will do nothing but harm.

 

[Callender Girl]

It's that time of year. My yard looks like the site of a massive pillow fight.

Thanks for posting the quiz and providing some good information!

 

[Bsmac]

I got 9 out of 10. I missed the first one because every summer I always have one or two that go through a light molt from heat stress! I did enjoy the quiz! I try to give a little extra protein to them during molting season. Meal worms, scrambled egg or meat.