South Florida Molting Question

[Fire-Chicken]

First and foremost Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your families, from South Florida!

All of our chickens have been in their molt since the middle of August.
Until today, they have not yet started laying. So I ask all of my fellow Floridians (and those who can weigh-in)…

How long does a molt last in South Florida and when can I anticipate egg laying to resume?
The molt is coming to an end as feather loss is noticeably decreasing.

Here is a snapshot of our setup - 8’ x 16’ “stilt home” coop, 12 hens (no roos’), Henhouse brand laying pellets 17% protein, Henhouse Reserve feed (mixed in), oyster shell and granite “ad libitum”, fresh untreated water daily, no artificial light. I just finished feeding them Henhouse Feather Fixer 20% protein and black soldier fly grubs since the first sign of molting.

*Breeds (2 of each) - Cream Legbar, Swedish Flower, Speckled Sussex, Green Egger, Welsummer, Blue Copper Maran - all birds are 2 1/2 to 3 years old, and again, all hens, no roos’.

Again I ask, is the molt longer in South Florida due to the stress?

Thanks to all of you, in advance, for weighing in.

Respectfully,
Fire-chicken

 

[fluffycrow]

How many daylight hours do you have each day? Most of us are experiencing a sudden drop in production (or they just never begun laying after molting) due to the increasingly small days

 

[Fire-Chicken]

As of today, we, in Florida, have 10 3/4 hours of daylight.

 

[fluffycrow]

As of today, we, in Florida, have 10 3/4 hours of daylight.

We are getting about the same. Mine have almost all stopped for winter. Hopefully you'll get some eggs here and there, but really, the production will bounce back in spring

 

[Fire-Chicken]

Thank you for that.
We usually have production start back up in the winter, with our warmer weather, but it will be slow/sparse due to the shorter days.
This molt just seemed a LOT longer than usual. I am curious to hear what other “chicken tenders” in our area are experiencing, if they are experiencing the same extended molt…?

 

[fluffycrow]

Thank you for that.
We usually have production start back up in the winter, with our warmer weather, but it will be slow/sparse due to the shorter days.
This molt just seemed a LOT longer than usual. I am curious to hear what other “chicken tenders” in our area are experiencing, if they are experiencing the same extended molt…?

I can't help with the latter, as I'm on a different continent. What I can tell you is that during the summer we had temps over 40°C, and in the high 30's (so ranging from 100°F-115°F), and now we're in the 20°C (68°F range). My brahma have proven to be pretty heavy molters. The other birds didn't do anything out of the ordinary