Too cold for molting hens???

VeggieGoneEggie

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A constant chicken fever + heartbreak at all the talk of retired hens going to the “soup pot” / “freezer camp” = SURPRISE! I recently adopted these three lovely ladies. :love

They’re 1-3 years old, and a couple of them haven’t quite finished their molt. In fact, one has it pretty bad because some other hen(s) at the previous farm had been picking at her bare back.

As of last night, we’ve moved to the “seeing, no touching” stage of the integration w/ my original flock of girls - I have the new girls set up in the predator-proof run attached to the main coop, with about 1/3 of it wrapped in plastic sheeting to block the wind (the side wrapped up includes the perches where they’re sleeping). But tonight starts the first big cold snap (by Santa Fe standards) of the winter. And I’m a little worried, particularly for my bare-backed girl!

Should I be concerned? Is it cold enough to think about bringing one/some/all of them indoors overnight?

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I agree. No need to worry. Chickens are very resilient, and your wind-block should help a lot. There are a lot of winter molting chickens. It makes sense to me that they would molt and go off-lay during the worst time of year for brooding. That way, when spring comes they can be done with it and ready for a new reproductive season.
 
Whatever you do don't be convinced by the city crowd to put sweaters on them. It reduces their remaining feathers' ability to keep them warm, plus it's painful as all get out on pinfeathers.

Definitely not. I did my research and know my girls need to be able to get as floofy as possible. :thumbsup
 
Can you tell me more about this? I'm genuinely curious.
About why it reduces warmth? If you watch birds in cold weather, they puff their feathers up, trapping warm air against the skin. Putting a sweater on flattens the feathers out & lets cold air in, kinda like a wet sheet on a cold human.
 

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