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What to feed your chickens when they are molting?

What to feed your chickens when they are molting?

A high-protein complete feed can help hens channel nutrients into feather regrowth and get back to laying eggs. For organic flocks, try switching hens to Purina® Organic Starter-Grower when molting begins in order to maintain organic status and provide a higher level of nutrition they need for feather regrowth.

What happens to my chickens when I molt them?

Molting causes either a significant reduction in egg productivity or, more commonly, a full hiatus from egg laying until the hen has fully replaced its feathers. Chicken owners wonder what to feed chickens during a molt that can help them through the process.

What happens to a chicken when it moltes?

A lighter molt also takes place in the spring as the amount of light changes again. During molting, the majority of a chicken’s energy stores are used up through losing and replacing feathers, so egg production falls off dramatically or stops altogether.

Why do chickens need artificial light after molting?

Increased artificial light during the winter months can help improve egg production after molting, as a chicken’s molting and egg-laying internal clocks are directly regulated by the amount of light available. Providing artificial light in the coop in the mornings can help encourage cold-weather egg laying and is safe for hens.

What’s the difference between hard and soft molting chickens?

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.

What happens when chickens molt?

A molt is when a chicken loses it’s old feathers and replaces them with new ones. The new feathers push out the old feathers. The old feathers become loose and fall off. The new feathers become visible as “pin feathers,” or small spikes that are rich in blood supply.

How old are Hens when they 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-12 weeks.

Are your chickens molting?

Adult chickens normally molt their feathers once a year but additional molts can be caused by stress from the heat, lack of light, poor nutrition, or hatching out chicks. When you are new to raising chickens the first time you see your chickens molting you might think something is very wrong with them. The sudden loss of feathers can leave your hens looking scruffy and bare.

What is molting in chickens?

Molting is the shedding of old feathers and growth of new ones. Chickens molt in a predictable order beginning at the head and neck, proceeding down the back, breast, wings and tail.