Why molt chickens

By Jen Pitino — Many people wonder when do chickens molt? Molting, the chicken pundits tell us, is supposed to happen in either spring or at the end of summer as we slip in to fall weather and shorter days. According to the experts, the molting bird will lose and replace its feathers in a matter of a few weeks. A few days before Christmas, I found my favorite hen, Frida, in the coop suddenly looking quite bedraggled and partially naked.

She is a singularly minded hen who routinely chooses not follow conventional wisdom even chicken wisdom. Frida began her molt approximately seven months earlier in mid-summer.

Unbeknownst to me, back in early June, Frida began her first adult molt. She quietly lost the feathers down both sides of her torso. You had to pick her up and feel nude chicken skin under your hand to discover that she was shedding plumage.

Also at that time, she was enjoying the life of a free-range chicken every day, so the coop was not filled with tell-tale feathers. Frida continued to lay regularly. She also failed to grow in pin feathers in the appropriate time range according to the experts. It simply did not appear to be a molt to me. I worried that she was diseased or parasite ridden; maybe chicken mites? We look forward to talking chicken with you! Hen Adoption.

Contact Hen Helpline. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Youtube Instagram. Moulting Season. This means moulting season is well and truly on its way… As the evenings start drawing in and the days become shorter this can act as a trigger for birds to start to moult. Top tips when your hens are moulting: Where feathers have been lost, new pin feathers will emerge giving the appearance of a hedgehog to your already tatty hen!

These pin feathers taste nice to other hens and may be plucked so take care to protect a moulting hen. By switching to a higher protein feed, we can help our hens through the process by adding extra protein and calcium to their diets. Need something to help? You may also like. Avian Influenza — Guidance for hen keepers Read More ». Share with your flock. Share on facebook Facebook. Share on twitter Twitter. Share on email Email. Share on whatsapp WhatsApp.

The reason? Your chicken will begin to look a bit like a porcupine as these small quills emerge. This is a photo of one of my Wyandotte hens as she began growing back her feathering.

See how the short "pin" or "blood" feathers are dark? That's because, at this stage, they're full of blood and although feathers themselves don't have nerves, the point at which the feathers emerge do.

And they'll stay at this stage for about 5 days before the quill begins to flake off and the feather grows. If they're handled roughly, or if the pin feathers are pecked or damaged in any way, the chicken will bleed - and they can bleed quite profusely.

If you see a chicken with bloodied feathering or skin - during the moult or not - you'll need to deal with it immediately. Chickens are ruthless. They're attracted by the colour red, and they'll peck at blood on other members of the flock, sometimes literally to the death. Check your chicken over for damage. If it's damage to one or two pin feathers, use a cleanser such as Vetericyn first That reduces the chances that the chicken will continue to be pecked.

But make sure you keep checking, just in case. And if the pecking worsens or the damage is more extensive, remove the chicken into isolation until she's healed completely. For a detailed explanation of how and when to isolate, see this page. If your chicken has a fondness for flying , and you've had to clip her wings to prevent her flying into danger, you need to give this attention after the moult.

Wing feathers, like all other plumage, falls off when a chicken moults, and the wings then grow back to their normal length. So you need to assess the situation: is this a chicken who is likely to continue to fly into danger? If so, you will need to clip her wings again. Be very careful not to clip while the pin feathers are still growing, though - they're full of blood and you'll cause pain.

Feathers which are fully grown will be either white, or clear. Don't do it when they're dark. Find out how to do clip wings without harming your chickens, here. The short answer is "no". Avoid introducing new flock members during this time, as adding in new friends and potentially re-shuffling the pecking order could add stress. When hens begin laying eggs, transition back to a complete layer feed that matches your goals. Gradually mix the complete layer feed with the high-protein feed over days.

This can help avoid digestive upsets and allows birds to get used to the taste and texture of their new feed. Want more next-level flock advice? Download our free e-book for tips to raising strong hens. Related Education Content. Do Eggs Need to Be Refrigerated? How Do Chickens Lay Eggs? Understanding Your Egg-Laying Chickens. Is My Flock Healthy?