One day you ’re going to take the air into the chicken coop and see bald hens and a base throng with feather ! And if it ’s your first clock time seeing this do n’t care , it ’s likely that your biddy are just go through moulting .
So to ease your mind this article is all about when moult pass off and what you could bear .
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Even though I ’ve had chickens for age it ’s still a little frightening every time I see a bunch of bald hens pass around .
It ’s also hard to not think something is wrong .
But thankfully it ’s nothing to be worried about .
Molting is a naturally occurring process of chickens losing their old feathering to get a young duncish set of plumage and down for winter .
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When Do Chickens Molt
The largest ecdysis reproducible across your slew members will likely be in fall during the little days as they prepare for wintertime .
This is called an annual molt .
It will generally encounter between September and November and your hens will be losing a majority of their feathers in a very agile amount of time .
So if you ’re noticing feather departure during this sentence of year it is perfectly normal .
Chickens may also molt due to emphasis .
The stress can amount from multiple thing such as :
Another government issue that do wimp to lose their feathers that is n’t from a type of molt is chicken mites .
If your chicken is infest with mites it is vulgar for them to lose their feather but usually only around the volcano area .
Mites are very tiny and are red or black in color .
They are most alive at dark so if you conceive your chickens have been infest check your chicken during nighttime on the areas that have soft feather such as around the outlet and field under the wings .
If you happen to find mites , process them forthwith with a product such aspoultry dust .
But an even better method is to prevent them all together which can be done by having achicken dust bath with diatomaceous earthand bycleaning your crybaby coop often .
Types of Molts
gentle molt – is when chickens slowly suffer and regrow plume . It ’ll happen all throughout the class and you likely wo n’t even mark .
Hard molt – is when poulet lose a Brobdingnagian amount of feathers all at once . This usually only happens once a yr during their annual molt .
Which Chickens Molt
All volaille molt , but hens will be much more noticeable than roosters .
cock will only lose a small portion of body feathering along with their tail feathers .
Whereas a hen may look completely bald .
If you have young pullet who were stick out in the spring of that same year , they probably wo n’t go through an yearly molt .
They may have a cushy moult to grow in some spare down for the winter but that ’s about it .
But any hen who is a full - class - old or old should go through a concentrated molt .
Other Effects of Molt
One of the most common happening during molt is a decrease or stop in egg - laying .
hen are putting all of their vigour and nutrient into get in their new feathers so it ’s nearly inconceivable for them to keep up with full testicle production at the same fourth dimension .
So if your hens have stopped lay during the time of molt do n’t worry .
Once all their feathers have maturate back in they should carry on put as normal .
Although , keep in mind that as the days start to get myopic hen will slow down down laying due to the decrease in illumination per day as well .
So even if their molt has ended you may still observe a decrease in egg production due to the metre of year .
If you desire eggs throughout the winter you canput a lighting in your volaille coopthat come on for a few hours a sidereal day which will allow your hens the extra light they require for continued production .
Additional Nutrients Needed During Molt
You ca n’t barricade the moult appendage but there are a few thing you may do to help your hen stay healthy and regrow their feathers quicker .
Since regrow feather requires so much protein , during this time you should feed a higher protein layer feed that is 18 - 20 % protein .
A good option isNutrena Feather Fixer .
you could also feed extra high protein foods in moderation such as a few handful of cat food , hard - boiled eggs , andblack oil helianthus germ .
The Molting Process
As chickens begin losing feathering it ’ll come out with their head teacher feathers , down to their neck opening , and in chronological sequence all the way to their buns feather .
Then they will grow back in the same episode .
So for model , as their head feathers are lost you should notice pin feathers that are ready to grow in .
Each biddy will vary though . Some may scarce be noticeable while others may seem like they stay bald-headed forever .
Factors such as age , weather condition , and diet will regulate the severity of each chicken ’s moult .
So to learn more about the integral molting process check out my clause , Your Guide to Molting wimp .
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