Is There A Way To Induce Molting?

[BeckyLa]

I have a little hen with bad damage to her plumage as a result of massive over breeding (happened before I got her). She just is a year old and has not molted in the past few months. Is there a way I can encourage her to molt thus restoring her plumage to it's former beauty?

 

[silkiechicken]

Well... I don't think there is any good way to do it, but a factory farm way is to stop feeding them for like a week and so they basically starve their feathers off...

 

[Critter Crazy]

I would just let her be. Her feathers will fix themselves. I would not Induce a moult. Let nature take its course, she will be pretty again.

 

[4H kids and mom]

The only way to do it, is called "Forcing a Moult" and it is as brutal as it sounds. You keep the chickens mainly in the dark, with hold feed and water and they will shed their feathers, and regrow them. But I would just say give her time, lots of sun, access to fresh greens/bugs and all that other good stuff and she'll moult soon on her own.

Oh, and I'm not sure about chickens, but when my parrots feathers start to look ragged, I give her a bath. Cleans her, and then she preens her feathers nice and tidy afterwards. Can you give a chicken a bath? If you can and its warm enough out, chances are she'd preen herself in the sun afterwards and maybe look a little less ragged. Just a thought.

 

[silkiechicken]

If the feathers are damaged from rooster mating, i'm pretty sure they will be broken and tattered... more than just dull. A bath would fluff her up though.

 

[eggchel]

Here is some information regarding the induction of molting. Many factory breeds do not spontaniously molt. Molting is a natural process during which the birds, on their own, severely reduce their intake of food. That is why feeding is reduced during an induced molt..... to mimic the natural molt behaviors. Light is also increased and decreased in a shortened version of naturally occuring changes in day length.

http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/408-026/408-026.html#L7
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/408-026/408-026.html#L7


chel

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

I had thought one of my chickens was molting but now she has stopped losing her feathers which was very minimal in the begining. I believe there are different degrees of molting.

 

[BeckyLa]

Thanks everybody! I was hoping there was better way but I guess not. I'm not about to starve this sweet girl just for the sake of beauty (now wait, isn't that what models do?). I'll just keep plumping her up and let her molt on her own. Yes, the feathers are severely broken and missing with bald spots here and there. Hopefully she'll molt soon on her own.