A question about molting

[LT]

I have 7 hens that are 18 months old, and they are different breeds: one Golden Comet, 3 Easter Eggers, 1 Cuckoo Maran and 2 Cherry Eggers. The Cuckoo Maran went through a mini molt last January, when she only lost some of her neck feathers. In late August, she lost a ton of feathers. The poor girl, her wings and breast were bare! She is coming along nicely and is looking better. Around the middle of September, one of the Cherry Eggers lost quite a bit of feathers, but hers seem to have come in much faster. Yesterday, one of the Easter Eggers lost a bunch of feathers. The girl looks terrible. Here is my question: will all of these 7 hens have a really hard molt, or does it vary from chicken to chicken or breed to breed?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

They don't necessarily have to molt all at once, no.

Sometimes they molt gradually. It varies from bird to bird.

 

[LT]

We added 4 new girls to our flock this spring, all Welsummers. We did this anticipating the molt, but only one of the four new girls has started to lay, and I am nervous about not having eggs! I can't buy store bought eggs! We are averaging about 2 eggs a day.

 

[Happy Chooks]

It varies from bird to bird. You can increase their protein to help them through their molt a little quicker.

 

[LT]

Thank you all for the comments. How long does the typical molt last? The Cuckoo Maran who was the first to molt hasn't laid since late August. Will it be spring before she lays again?

 

[Happy Chooks]

Average for my flock is 3 months. Some are a bit quicker, some a bit slower.