Thoughts on Moulting (Molting) aka I'm not getting eggs!!

[demp4]

Thanks for posting. My chickens have been molting for the past 4 wks and I came on here looking at how long it should take for them to start laying again! My dh was threatening me to get rid of them since they aren't laying including our 8 month old wyandotte who thinks she is a rooster. She laid for awhile but all of a sudden stopped when it got cold the first time..

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
You know, I have a tough time answering that from my experience. I usually have a couple dozen or more birds of mixed age and lineage and they all, generally, moult at different times. All I know is that I'll go from maybe a dozen or two eggs a day down to 6 or 8 and my DW will ask "What, are they moulting?" and I'll answer "Yes" Then in a few months we'll be up to a dozen or so eggs a day but they'll be larger so I figure the moult is over. Aside from my EE's that always seem to start laying later in life than the brown egg layers, I'm never sure who is laying unless I happen to catch an egg when collecting them and don't really care. If they all would suddenly stop, I'd probably ship them off.

That's is one of the advantages of having a fairly large, diverse flock, the moult isn't as noticeable nor does it produce a crisis.

 

[Dixiedoodle]

yea, I was getting 4-5 eggs daily from my older hens (20months old now) and now I am only getting one.. I had a friend ask if they had the mange==not a pretty site.. Only My BR looks ok.. so I guess, I won't be giving away eggs any time soon.. every one seems to be 'out'--everyone here has molting hens...lol

 

[ange]

thanks for the information. my 6 or 7hens stopped laying, I ONLY RECEIVE L EGG A DAY. Was not sure if it was the molting or the daylight hours reducing, we have no other light., and I DO SEE MANY FEATHERS ON THE COOP FLOOR

 

[Matt A NC]

This year's Pullets that were hatched Feb 10 of this year are now molting. They all started laying in July and then started molting in October. Three are not molting and still laying. This goes against your age theory. I have another pair that were hatched Dec of 2009 and the pullet started laying at 5 months old. They are also molting.

I find that a molt can occur at anytime and alot of the time stress from heat can trigger a molt. This may not be extreme heat, but simply dramatic changes in temperatures. I think everyone has been getting those this year.

I also have double molters. Maggie, for one, is currently in her second molt this year. She molts twice every year back to back. Takes her FOREVER to get through both molts. There are about half a dozen others here that do the same thing, but most molt at least a few weeks apart. These are different breeds, different sizes, different flocks, and in different areas. One in a bantam cochin named Puff that molted in June and started laying again in late July. She is almost done with her 2nd molt. She is 4 years old and molts at different times each year. She also never lays more then 8 eggs before going broody again.

Matt

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
Breed type has a lot to do with it too. Some birds seem to moult more often than others--sounds like you have a few. I've had a couple of EE's that never seemed to moult in the 3 yrs I had them or at least never seemed to stop laying. One thing about having a large number of chickens over a long period of time is that you learn there is nothing "normal" about them. You just go for the average.

 

[Happy Chooks]

My EE is 18 months old and currently molting. She doesn't look bare, but she has no tail feathers. My buttercup on the other hand, looks like she's been through the plucker.

 

[Cuttlefishherder]

Okay, I hear the molting, We have 9 Hens that are going through their first molt and they are a riot, they look so darn good in their new feathers. We have 22 chickens though, 13 are pullets, now all about 6-8 months old.

Before the molting started it was just our older hens laying so we would get 6-9 eggs a day. Then the three oldest stated their molt in mid July, so we dwindled down to about 4-6 eggs a day. August came and they all just stopped laying, our 9 egg producers stopped all together.

Then our pullets started laying for a few weeks in September, We would get these cute little tiny eggs scattered in the coop, and then they started making it in too the egg boxes. We estimate that about 10 pullets started laying at that time, because we have a Cochin and some EE's that will start laying eventually. So for about 3 weeks we got any where from 3 to 8 eggs a day.

But that was September and now its November, and we haven't seen an egg since, we don't know whats happening.
Any Ideas on whats happening to our ladies?

 

[mener6896]

How is it that 50 chickens all molt at the same time? I have some hens that are at least a year older than others. I have/had a very large flock 65+ but lose/gain some at various stages, but for some reason NONE of them are laying. It's clear that the oldest hens are molting due to the large amount of feathers all over the place (and funny looking chickens) but why have the younger ones stopped laying? This is very frustrating to not only me (who had to BUY eggs today) but also my many, many egg customers. just an FYI, my hens layed continuously all last winter. I think this is their first moult (they're 2 1/2) I can't believe this can last 6 weeks!! I need some good news!!!

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
The good news is they'll start again. The bad news is it'll be on their own terms. What you're having happen is all the spring chicks are moulting at the same time. Bummer.