Some of our chickens are moulting
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Chickens | 33 comments
I went down to the run today and it was covered with a light sprinkling of feathers. My initial gut reaction was slightly panicky. Had a fox got in or a giant rat? Then I remembered that sometimes chicken moult at this time of year. As chickens get older they are more likely to moult. It’s never the whole gang and that is why it’s a bit disturbing. We have three hens, looking great with bright red combs stepping about perkily. The other two look as if they haven’t seen a hairbrush for months.
My bantam book is reassuring. As the feathers drop from the head they are swiftly followed by new, squeaky clean ones. Also, chickens keep their ability to fly during a moult, retaining essential wing feathers for this task. The longer the feathers the longer they take to grow back.
It’s great that they can fly as this means that they have a chance if trouble strikes but it’s the eggs that I’m interested in. Our problem is that we haven’t collected an egg for days. They go ‘off lay’ when moulting. What about the three that are not moulting? Surely they could lay an egg or three to keep us happy.
Danny is kinder than me, ‘At least they’ll live a bit longer, if they have a rest,’ he said as he cracked a handful of eggs from John’s shop into the frying pan, ‘you’ll hate it when Carol dies.’
Thinking about it, he’s right. Although I do miss the warmth of a newly laid egg in my hand, in the morning.
Tips and tricks:
- Generally if you see a lot of feathers in the run at this time of year it’s an indication that some of the hens are moulting. If you suspect feather pulling and bullying, hang a head of cabbage in the run. Position this at a height that forces the chickens to stretch and jump to reach the cabbage. This should stop the feather pulling quickly.
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hi, fn and claire,
today i have a good news my feather feet is feeling much better and has started eating , actually i tried every thing but feather feet was not ready to eat even the mash fn suggested my other chickens loved it but feather feet was not ready to even look at it i used to feed her with my hands by opening her beak and putting small balls of food in her mouth so that she don’t starve to death then i took her to our vet doctor who said she is not sick she is just moulting and in moulting the appetite of birds gets reduced
so just wait and give her multivitamins so i added 1 tea spoon of multivitamin syrup which i give to my daughters in half litter water and gave it to all my chickens for a few days i have also given her a Deworming medicine and now she is recovering.so every one new in bird keeping here is an advice which i have learned through experience that in moulting birds gets in real bad shape and may stop eating too but its just a phase after a while it will pass continue to take good care of them and don’t get disappointed
fri, thank you so much for the advice. They love the mash that I gave them yesterday & this morning & seem much better today. It also helps that the sun is out! It is so good to see my Sussex eating again.
We have a lovely Eglu and I always shut them in at night for warmth & safety & the girls have been in as early as 4pm on a wet day.
Thanks again for the help, I am still in year 1 of chickens and I’m on a steep learning curve and it is so good to have kind people like you to help us newbies.
Many many thanks, Claire
hi fn
thank u so much for giving me the information so soon ..i am really grateful.God bless you erum
Hi Erum
I’m no expert but a warm mash served first thing in the morning can give chickens a fillip at this time of year. The key is not to serve too much but just line their stomachs with something warm.
In a small bowl of hot water mix in a handful of bran (or oats/oatmeal) a little honey, some cod liver oil (from one human capsule). Allow to cool til warm and feed as a treat when you let them out first thing in the morning. This should tempt a hen who is ‘off her food.’ Just give only a little because the hen needs to eat the layers pellets etc to get all the nutrients that she needs during the wintery months.
Hello Claire
I’d do the same as I’ve advised above. Like us, your hens are now experiencing chilly conditions, shorter days and mud. The above will give them a treat that they’ll appreciate on these frosty mornings.
Moulting is normal for hens of two years. It’s unfortunate if this happens when the weather gets cold. Make sure that the hen house is dry inside. You need to give hens good ventilation but check that there are no leaks and no raging draughts. Close the hen house door at dusk at this time of year and put a water fountain inside the house. I also put the feeder in the house too, so that if they wake early they can feed before we get up.
erum – my sussex & 2 bantams are all molting (the Sussex looks dreadful) not really eating & look so miserable & are not running up to me as usual. I know it’s wet & cold but I am very worried about them. Any advice from anyone please.
hi
i have a chicken she is a good layer i call it feather feet as it has feathers on its feet some 2 weeks ago she went broody but as the weather is getting cold so i decided not to hetch any eggs and feather feet came out of the broody state in just 6 days but recently she is molting but the thing that’s bothering me is her low appetite is there any suggestion i am really worried for her .
Hi Sandra
It could just be a phase that she is going through.
I suppose I’ll just have to take what comes then, as with the weather. If I had a dozen or more hens, I suppose it wouldn’t have been bad, but I only have four. However,the luck is on their side as I don’t know which one it is without taking steps to find out and they do a pretty good job of grazing and keeping the grass low,so I guess a reprieve is necessary. Thankyou for your reply, Sandra.
Hi Sandra
You will have an occasional chicken that does not retire to the nesting box to lay. Mrs Boss is a culprit, life outside the nesting box is so exciting that she lays in the run or anywhere convenient.
As far as I know, there’s nothing that you can do about this.
Hi, One of my chickens and I don’t know which one, but I think it is the first layer,started last September and soon went onto laying double yolkers,after which it produced soft shells which it dropped from the perch. After a while things went ok for a few weeks, when all eggs were in the nesting boxes. However, it then started to lay hard shelled eggs from the perch, which luckily fall on the dung below and don’t usually break, until today that is, when it missed the dung and hit the hard floor.How can I cure it without saying toodle-oo.