How do chickens molt

I was stunned when I found Frida tailless and bare chested one day in the coop on a snowy and cold winter day. I could not understand why Frida would choose such an inopportune season to chuck her feathers in a massive molt. Worried for her well-being, I began a deeper study on molting and looked for ways to help her through the process.

The following is what I learned. Molting is a natural and necessary process by which chickens lose old, broken, worn out and soiled feathers for new plumage on a regular basis. Chickens will go through several molts during their lives. The earliest, juvenile molt occurs when a chick is only six to eight days old. The chick loses its downy covering for actual feathers in this first juvenile molt. The second juvenile molt occurs when the bird is about eight weeks old.

When do chickens molt? Chickens typically go through their first adult molt at approximately 18 months old. Usually, adult molting occurs in the late summer or fall and the replacement feathers are fully in within eight weeks. As demonstrated by Frida, not all chickens conduct their molts in a conventional manner and will drag out the process upwards of six months.

Additionally, new chicken owners should be aware there are two different styles of molting — soft and hard. A soft molt is when the bird loses some feathers but the effect is such that the untrained eye might not realize that the chicken is losing and replacing feathers. Conversely, a chicken going through a hard molt will suddenly and dramatically lose a vast quantity of feathers giving it a nude appearance. The most common trigger for molting is a decrease of daylight hours and the end of an egg-laying cycle, which typically coincide with late summer or early fall.

However, there are several less innocuous molting causes as well. Physical stress, a lack of water, malnutrition, extreme heat, hatching a clutch of eggs and unusual lighting conditions e. So, handling them too much or forcing them to put on a sweater will be painful and uncomfortable for our sweet little molting chickens. In fact, our cuddly and friendly chickens may even run away from us if we reach out to touch them.

You may find that even your sweetest hens will avoid being near you or other chickens during their molt. Growing those feathers back out can be quite painful and irritating. Let's pick them up only if absolutely necessary, and make sure our children also know that the kinder thing to do is feed them a healthy snack rather than touching their painful spots accidentally.

A chick starter or grower formula is higher in protein than a regular layer feed. Make sure you also always provide a free-choice source of calcium to your flock every day , especially if you switch to, or supplement, a non-layer formula.

Even if the hens stop laying during their molt, they will still need some supplemental calcium to keep other body functions working as well. Protein-rich snacks are essential for molting chickens, especially if you do not wish to switch their feed. Black Soldier Fly grubs Grubblies are both high in protein, and have 50x more calcium than mealworms. Give your flock a couple of handfuls of Grubblies daily to help provide them with a healthy boost they need. Grubs are a reliable source of the essential proteins that promote healthy feather production, and are especially important when molting.

Sprouting lentils, seeds, and grains can also create a nutritious, protein snack for your flock! The process of sprouting increases the protein availability in the food and makes it more digestible. Another way to help your flock through their molt is to limit their stress.

Avoid making any big changes during this time, such as introducing new members to the flock or remodeling the coop. In certain parts of the country, heat waves or freezes can still occur in the fall, and these temperature spikes can cause excess stress.

You can help your flock deal with cold stress stress induced by the need for more energy to stay warm during cold weather by making sure their coop is properly winterized and by offering them warm, healthy, and energy-providing snacks during cold spells. A warm bowl of soaked oats or cooked quinoa topped with Grubblies makes a great protein-rich snack for a molting flock during cold weather. Having the knowledge of what molting is and why it happens can help you better care for your flock while they grow in their new winter coat!

A well-balanced diet with the addition of healthy, protein-rich snacks will put your flock on the right track for completing a quick and effective molt. Be sure to check out our list of recipes and snack ideas to help your molting chickens. We've also created a free printable guide with our five tips to help your flock through molting season. Print and keep by the coop for easy access! Timely information for me, thank you! Thanks Two Crows, crazy feathers and Chicken chick11!

I'm glad this helped you, NothFLChick! Fantastic article!!! Well written!!! That's a wonderful article! Great job! Nice article! Awesome article!! Well written Thanks all!! How do you make the molt muffin, I have a few that are molting and it is taking a long time for them to get their new feathers. Wonderful information Many thanks! This is great info but my chickens have been losing feathers for about 5 months. One of them is almost bald. We have sprayed and powdered for lice, but it did not stop the feather loss.

We are going to change our feed and try some of the suggested supplemental food in the article. Any suggestions as to what could be causing this problem. We are very concerned. Please help!! What do you use for dust bathing? Ive been told a combo of sand and wood ash will keep lice off your birds Loved the information you wrote and learning so much. I have a white, Silkie, Hen and Rooster,, I have a hard time trying to figure out their primaries from secondary feathers, any suggestions?

Also, I think she molted 3 mos ago, and then 1 mos ago. I got 5 eggs from her, she laid every other day for 10 days back in July, she stopped laying,,,, was losing many feathers,,,, very dominate and the "flock" leader.

But just recentlly started laying again, every other day. Good info, thanks for posting this article. The first picture is of my hen Carmel.