Spring molt? Is there such a thing?

[centrarchid]

Sometimes laying stops when hen stressed. Look around for alternative laying sites.

 

[raiford921]

Mine went through a very mild molt in the fall. I put starter/grower feed out for them and I make an anti-cold concoction for them that's got added protein. (Boiled eggs, ground cayenne pepper, minced garlic, cinnamon, and oregano. None of our hens got sick this year and the molt was very mild. Now, it's seems they are molting, big time. I have one of my reds that looks like a zombie chicken and others have bad looking tail feathers and some balding on their breasts and butt. There are no signs of mites or lice. We check them for mites and lice every two weeks when we dust them with DE. I also spread DE in all the places they lick to dust themselves.

 

[newchickmomma4]

My 4 2 year olds apparently had gone through a VERY mild moult in the fall with their previous owner (only lost a handful of feathers each) and never stopped laying. They all 4 went through a heavy moult the first month they were here with me and all stopped laying. We are just now coming back into production after having been off for about 5 weeks.