Should I bring molting chicken indoors

[anicluck]

I think this is my black sex link girl, she’s having a really heavy bolt whereas my those island reds are going through it much slower and don’t exactly have baked spots. It is 15 degrees f (-9 C) outside right now and we’re supposed to get snowed in on Thursday (12 inches) with temperatures at 3 f (-16 c), you can’t tell from the picture but her underside is almost completely exposed, should I bring her indoors for on these two days. She’s practically completely bald.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Chookchicken]

I wouldn’t, I would keep an eye on her incase she starts showing signs of frostbite then I would bring her inside. If you want to bring her inside then that’s your option though whatever works for you.

 

[anicluck]

I’m outside right now, she’s the only one who’s staying in the coop and her comb is turning white and black. I’m bringing her in. Thanks for the reply!

 

[Chookchicken]

I’m outside right now, she’s the only one who’s staying in the coop and her comb is turning white and black. I’m bringing her in. Thanks for the reply!

I think that is probably a good idea.

 

[Aapomp831]

I think that is probably a good idea.

Just don’t bring her in and put her under a heat lamp... she doesn’t need that. If she was hanging out in the coop and your coop is well ventilated, she should be perfectly fine in there. All she needs is a place to get out of the wind and rain.... cold is ok. If you bring her in and put her in heat, that will cause a strain on her body and could possibly inhibit the growth of essential feathers meant to keep them warm. There is No need to coddle her as long as she has a coop to hang out inside of. What I would do is offer more protein at this time to help aid with the regrowth of feathers.

 

[iwltfum]

I'm assuming you're in new england by your weather forecast? I would personally be concerned that it is a bit late for molting chickens in the northern US. I would definitely go out and get some turkey or game bird feed, which would be in the 27-30% protein range and feed that out for a couple weeks. Feather fixer feed would also do it, but I find turkey feed works really well for getting hens though molt quickly when winter is approaching.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I think this is my black sex link girl, she’s having a really heavy bolt whereas my those island reds are going through it much slower and don’t exactly have baked spots. It is 15 degrees f (-9 C) outside right now and we’re supposed to get snowed in on Thursday (12 inches) with temperatures at 3 f (-16 c), you can’t tell from the picture but her underside is almost completely exposed, should I bring her indoors for on these two days. She’s practically completely bald.
Thanks in advance!


View attachment 2451434

I’m outside right now, she’s the only one who’s staying in the coop and her comb is turning white and black. I’m bringing her in. Thanks for the reply!

Show photos of her comb turning white and black.
What's your coop like - photos?

The problem with bringing in a molting bird is they will have a hard time acclimating going back outside.
It would be better to add extra bedding, wind protection, etc. in the coop than bringing her in.

It's not that uncommon for birds to be in full molt in deep winter, it's just their timing.
I've had naked birds, way worse than yours in temps like that, they were fine.
They did stay inside the coop for the most part on cold/windy/bad weather days, but I provided deep straw where they liked to hang out, they snuggled in. Roosted at night between their flockmates staying warm, etc. Yes. I did check on them frequently and made sure they were eating/drinking.
Chick starter or flock raiser are both good to provide during molt or you can leave them on their normal feed and give a small amount of protein a few times a week. Egg, meat, fish are all nice supplements in moderation.

Keep in mind that handling birds that are in molt can be painful for them, so less handling the better.

 

[anicluck]

I didn’t give her a heat lamp, our garage stays warmer than outdoors but I would certainly not call it warm ( a rough estimate would be 20-30 f) my birds are typically pretty friendly, but she is one of the wilder ones, I had her perch on my hand as I moved her, I didn’t even brush her underside . I gave her some BOSS and a little bit of cheese as well as her normal feed, she does have a lamp on her dog kennel which I covered with pine shavings. I decided to remove her because of the blackened comb and she had fresh blood on her back, which I assumed was from one of the those islands (mine are a bit mean sometimes) I will probably keep her inside until Saturday once it gets a little bit warmer (25-30 degrees)

 

[anicluck]

I didn’t give her a heat lamp, our garage stays warmer than outdoors but I would certainly not call it warm ( a rough estimate would be 20-30 f) my birds are typically pretty friendly, but she is one of the wilder ones, I had her perch on my hand as I moved her, I didn’t even brush her underside . I gave her some BOSS and a little bit of cheese as well as her normal feed, she does have a lamp on her dog kennel which I covered with pine shavings. I decided to remove her because of the blackened comb and she had fresh blood on her back, which I assumed was from one of the those islands (mine are a bit mean sometimes) I will probably keep her inside until Saturday once it gets a little bit warmer (25-30 degrees)

*Rhode Island’s
Typo, my bad

 

[anicluck]

I'm assuming you're in new england by your weather forecast? I would personally be concerned that it is a bit late for molting chickens in the northern US. I would definitely go out and get some turkey or game bird feed, which would be in the 27-30% protein range and feed that out for a couple weeks. Feather fixer feed would also do it, but I find turkey feed works really well for getting hens though molt quickly when winter is approaching.

I was planning on getting some chick starter but I think the turkey feed might be better. One of my leghorns just started showing signs of molting yesterday, I hope she doesn’t go through as heavy of a molt haha