Moulting hen loosing feathers
How long is the moulting process? It takes 9 weeks to produce a new feather. The moult can be as short as 2 months if the chickens are stimulated back into production. If not they’ll molt, replace the feathers, and wait for the longer days in spring.
What I notice during molts is they seem to look more unkept and the feathers are not as sleek. Some say the shorter daylight hours stimulates a molt but most of my hens normally start at this time of year, late August or early September. They are normally done before the cooler weather arrives.
As my hens start the molting process I try to help them along by adding additional nutrients to help the process. Feathers are almost pure protein, so when they molt a protein boost helps a lot. Some resources I have read recommend feeding cat food, which is high in protein. If you are like me and don’t have a cat, you can feed them Chick Starter that has more protein than Layer feed, along with Oyster Shells for the calcium. Other food items that are high in protein are eggs, cheese, yogurt, and meat.
Occasionally I mix up a paste mix made with yogurt for the hens. Here is the recipe I use which helps their digestive system:
1/4 cup plain yogurt
Layer crumbles
A small amount of fruit like strawberries, grapes, peaches, etc.Mix all this together into a paste. After a couple of hours remove any uneaten portion (normally it is always gone).
Yogurt is very good for them. Plain is the best but the benefit of the culture to get their digestive systems back in line is worth the offset with the little sugar that’s in the flavored.
Do you have a recipe to help your chickens get through the molting process? If so share in the comments. Let’s help each other raise healthy, happy chickens!
August 13th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Wow! That was informative for me. I just started raising chickens early this spring. I had to go to Florida the last week in July and was gone for two weeks. When I returned my chickens looked awful (even the roosters) and feathers were everywhere. I am only getting two to three eggs a day with 28 hens that are old enough to lay. I didn’t know there was anything I could do to help. All my chickens are mixed breeds, but I love it. I have hatched a few from the incubator and my Bantam hen sat and hatched 11 eggs herself. I was thinking about getting into pure breeds for shows and competition. But I am learning all the time. Thanks for the info.
Randy Peterson´s last blog ..Returned and Tagged
[Reply]
Carole Reply:
August 24th, 2009 at 7:34 am
Randy I’m also starting to invest in pure-breeds and the thought of showing at local fairs has entered my mind. If I decide to do so I will keep everyone updated. Chickens are so much fun!
[Reply]
Ed Reply:
August 27th, 2009 at 7:27 am
Randy, I live in South Texas and my birds have slowed down laying also. Then again, my birds aren’t a year old yet I have 9 birds and I only collect about 6-7 eggs daily. Where do you live that you only collect 3 eggs with 28 birds?
[Reply]
August 13th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Some of our chickens have already started molting this month. I think the extra hot weather had a lot to do with it too. There are feathers everywhere in the chicken house. I thought some kind of varmit had gotten to them, there were so many feathers flying around.
We also use the chick starter right now along with extra oyster shells.
We get a good grind of feed at a local feed store that all the chickens and quails love.
It has been so hot this summer, I am ready to molt too. Or maybe melt. LOL…
Have a good day.
Pam
GaFarmWomanPam´s last blog ..Citron Melon
[Reply]
Carole Reply:
August 24th, 2009 at 7:33 am
Hang in there, Pam, fall is coming
.
[Reply]
August 15th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Our Americanas have already started molting… the poor things look awful!! I’m with Pam- it’s been so hot I don’t know whether to molt or melt! LOL
Farm Chick Paula´s last blog ..Busy days winding down
[Reply]
Carole Reply:
August 24th, 2009 at 7:32 am
It has been extremely hot here and I am sure that was has triggered the molt throughout my flock. Hopefully it will be quick!
[Reply]
August 17th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Little N. has 4 chickens entered in the county fair. Ours look great, but there are some that look pretty sad. Ours still have bright, glossy feathers & FAT! Keep your fingers crossed to get a ribbon!!
[Reply]
Carole Reply:
August 24th, 2009 at 7:31 am
How did it turn out? I hope you got the blue ribbon.
[Reply]
August 24th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
His hen/rooster pair won 4th place in a very full class. The pair of hens would have placed better, but I didn’t know the answer to how to tell how many eggs a hen will be able to lay (has to do with how far the space is from one bone to the other and then how wide the opening is. . . The bigger opening means she can have bigger eggs and the space is determines how many are in the ovary . . .or something like that . . .).
He says he is already to go for next year!
[Reply]
August 24th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
I can’t remember if I told you yet or not: one of the hens that didn’t go to fair liked the peace and quiet so much she is setting on a nest of 9+ eggs! She is eating well and I have been giving her watermelon rind instead of water left out there. It keeps getting spilled and I have a huge mess to clean up–easier to just offer her water every few hours than to disturb her. I will keep you posted! They have a black cochin dad and buff orpington moms. Won’t that be a silly looking batch of chickens?!
[Reply]
August 27th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
My RIR hen freaked me out today when I saw her underbelly. Lord, she looked sick until I realized she was molting as well. The heat in Austin has been overwhelming. Egg production is down as well.
Glad I found your post!
Wendy´s last blog ..The Ugly Underbelly: Heat, Molting and Snakes, Oh My!
[Reply]
September 6th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Molting vs. mite infestation?
We live in Colorado at 8000 ft. above sea level with 8 chickens (2-5 years old). We have had chickens for over 10 years. We have had an unusual summer- cool and wet. For the past 6 weeks, we have had lots of feather loss on the abdomen and under the wings, and most recently, a real drop in egg production. The birds act differently (our treatments or the mites??) We have treated the roosts, an coop and birds directly with a sorbitrate solution (2-3 times per week)for the past 3 weeks assuming that we have a mite infestation. We have never seen a mite.
Any advice?
ted
[Reply]
Carole Reply:
September 6th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Ted, I would say your birds are molting. Even if you did have mites you have treated enough to take care of the situation for now. I have read on different forums that the main opinion is that chickens will stop laying when molting. I don’t know if I agree with that but I do know that they slow down in egg production. Mine have been molting about a month and finally are about back to normal egg production. It varies by breed but all chickens shed their feathers including roosters. Both of my older roosters have shed all their tail feathers and are growing new plumage.
[Reply]
October 14th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
I have 30 adult hens both aracauna barred rocks silver laced wyondottes and rhode island reds. They stopped laying last summer and have only produced about 3-6 eggs per day since early summer. Their ages vary from 2 to 4 years. They get good feed and water and are free range. I closed them in for a couple of days thinking they might be laying somewhere else but the numbers are still very poor. I guess i need to get rid of the ones that aren’t producing, how do you tell if they are layers or not?
[Reply]
Carole Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 7:17 am
Sandy, I believe it is time to renew your flock. From what I have read, hens at two years or older stop laying as consistently and eventually go down to nothing. One of the ways to tell if a hen is laying is to start watching the nest boxes closely and see if you get an egg. Or if you have the space, separate them into different pens.
[Reply]
December 28th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
My question is about molting my barred rock hens are molting very bad its the last week of December, what is causing this and how can I help them!!
[Reply]
March 14th, 2010 at 4:12 am
I have 21 laying chickens, I’m getting @ 13 day I was getting 18-20 a day, this all started a few weeks ago. This is March now. I noticed some of my chickens have no featehrs on thier back. Could it be moulting? Or is it caused by my roosters? It looks like some have scratches on their back. Do I not worry or does anyone have an anwser for me?
[Reply]
Judy Reply:
March 14th, 2010 at 4:14 am
I mean eggs, I got 21 chickens they were laying 18-20 a day. Now I only have @ 13 eggs a day I’m just clearifing my comment above.
[Reply]
April 8th, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Hi there, I’m in NZ and most of my chickens seem to be finishing their moult and getting some lovely new plumage. I seem to be getting 1 or 2 eggs aday from over 30 chooks. I was wondering what other readers feed their chickens to help get them back to egg laying faster? I have noticed evidence of mice /rodents so wondered if that would also put them off the lay
[Reply]
Carole Reply:
April 8th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
Kiwi, I don’t know that feeding your chickens a certain diet will get them back to laying faster. But I do increase my protein during molting time to help bring on the new feathers. My feed of preference for this is Flock Raiser by Purina. It has 20% protein versus the 17% in layer. I use it year-round to give my Brahmas the extra protein in their diet and to help promote feathering for beautiful plumage.
[Reply]