/ Register

  1. If this is your first time on BYC, we suggest you start with one of these three options:
    Raising Chickens Chicken Coops Join BYC
    If you're already a member of our community, click here to login & click here to learn what's new!

Why are my chickens molting?

Discussion in 'Chicken Behaviors and Egglaying' started by Catfish267, Jan 5, 2014.

Most Liked Posts
  1. Jan 5, 2014 #1
    Catfish267

    Catfish267 Chillin' With My Peeps

    232
    5
    81
    Dec 26, 2012
    I Don't Remember
    The temperatures are down in the single digits and a few of my chickens just lost their feathers. I'm pretty worried. What should I do?
     
  3. Jan 5, 2014 #2
    teach1rusl

    teach1rusl Love My Chickens

    10,023
    99
    336
    Jul 28, 2009
    Floyds Knobs, Indiana
    My Coop
    I've only dealt with one winter molter, and I ended up bringing her into our garage to keep her warmer (because she was half naked). If your coop is spacious, you can keep them inside the coop with lots of straw bedding (better insulator than shavings) and the pop door closed. If you can do it safely, you can hang a heat lamp w/a smaller wattage heat bulb (maybe 100W) - pet stores sell the smaller bulbs in the reptile sections.
    I'm not sure why some molt "out of season"... I always thought it would make more sense for them to molt during the hottest part of the summer, but mine typically molt late Fall (I think it has something to do with the daylight hours)...
     
  5. Jan 5, 2014 #3
    TwoCrows

    TwoCrows Show me the way old friend... Staff Member

    31,929
    4,443
    581
    Mar 21, 2011
    New Mexico, USA
    My Coop
    Chickens molt when their bodies tell them too. I have one that just started molting last week. It is the dead of winter, freezing cold out. She is nearly bald. LOL When their hormones tell them to drop feathers, off they come. :)
     
  7. Jan 6, 2014 #4
    Happy Chooks

    Happy Chooks Moderator Staff Member

    39,646
    1,176
    516
    Jul 9, 2009
    Northern CA
    My Coop
    Yep, and they are more comfortable in with the other chickens. They use their body heat to keep warm and snuggle up to.
     

BackYard Chickens is proudly sponsored by