Do chickens lose all/most of their feathers when molting?

[demonic]

I have a 1 year old Leghorn x Delaware hen and she is one of my best layers. She rarely skipped and laid huge brown eggs. However, randomly she stopped. She had 1 small patch of feathers missing on each of her shoulder (both the same size, around the size of a penny) where meat was showing. she kept laying through this though. We thought this was because of an aggressive rooster, but he’s now gone and this hen continued losing and lost some more feathers on her back. She barely lost any real feathers, only her outside feathers were falling, not even her chicken fluff. And now I can see her feathers slowly growing back. Can this be considered molting? Do chickens always have to lose a heavy amount of feathers when molting, or can molting just be a few big feathers? Her feathers are still growing back so she hasn’t laid yet. I just thought this was confusing because everyone always makes molting seem more severe. Plus none fell of from her stomach or neck, just her back area. again, these are my questions:

Do chickens always lose a good amount of feathers when molting, or can it just be a small patch of feathers in a certain area?


And when chickens molt do they also lose that other type of feather that keeps them warm (their fluff) or is it just their actual feathers

I believe she will start laying once her feathers grow back, just a weird encounter I’ve also never dealt with a chicken molting before unless this counts based on what you guys reply with

 

[Lollychicken]

I have brown leghorn bantams and they molt heavily, they lose most of there feathers but they do keep the fluff to stay warm. But they are the ugliest things when they do
Whereas the large leghorns aren't as bad, they would be similar to how you described yours.
Then there is the Sussex, they molt a heap but the only way you can tell is the mass of feathers on the ground, they don't look much different.
I would guess they look different molting and the amount they molt depends on the breed and size of the chicken
(Hope this helped)

 

[rosemarythyme]

The amount they molt and location(s) depends from individual to individual. Some birds tend to molt heavier each time, others not very noticeably at all.

 

[Chicalina]

They don't lose them all at once and run around naked til they grow. I'm imagining bare little plucked oven ready hens in the yard

They'd get cold!

I agree, they all lose them in different ways. Mine tend to look bedraggled for a few weeks, shedding feathers unevenly, but the new ones grow in at the same time. Some years it seems like a mini moult. Some years a bigger one.

Just give them extra protein to help them make all the new feathers.

 

[Aapomp831]

Ugh... I had a chicken that looked like straight up skeletore (I called her Maria Schriver during this time). She’s beautifully feathered out now, but it was an alarming sight.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

They don't lose them all at once and run around naked til they grow. I'm imagining bare little plucked oven ready hens in the yard

They'd get cold!

I agree, they all lose them in different ways. Mine tend to look bedraggled for a few weeks, shedding feathers unevenly, but the new ones grow in at the same time. Some years it seems like a mini moult. Some years a bigger one.

Just give them extra protein to help them make all the new feathers.

When does a first molt normally happen??

 

[saysfaa]

"... some feeding or management conditions causes a hen to go througha summer-vacation molt, during which time from one to several primary feathers are dropped." After going through such a molt, there will be no more molt for a time and when she begins her regualr fall molt, she starts where she left off with the order of dropping primary feathers.

"The order of molt of the different feather sections in the case of the hen is very regular, but the order of completion varies." The order in which the various parts of the body plumage begins to drop: the head, neck, breast, fluff, thighs, back, wings, at the same time as the wings or a bit later is the tail. Tail finishes regrowing several weeks before the wing feathers.

Low producers take longer to go through molt than high producers. It takes the same amount of time to regrow a feather, the difference is in the rate they drop feathers.

Feeding and/or management invluences how early in the year she molts. "...the longer the fall molt can be delayed, the higher the annual egg production. It is just as important, however, not to go to the other extreme and delay molt so late in the fall that the birds do not have time to get their new coat before cold weather sets in."

All of the above is quotes and paraphrasing from 1952 text book "Poultry Management." All the pages of the molt section are in the pictures below if you want the whole section.

 

[Chicalina]

When does a first molt normally happen??

I can't remember. Maybe in their second year after laying for a year? The post below yours seems really informative.

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

"... some feeding or management conditions causes a hen to go througha summer-vacation molt, during which time from one to several primary feathers are dropped." After going through such a molt, there will be no more molt for a time and when she begins her regualr fall molt, she starts where she left off with the order of dropping primary feathers.

"The order of molt of the different feather sections in the case of the hen is very regular, but the order of completion varies." The order in which the various parts of the body plumage begins to drop: the head, neck, breast, fluff, thighs, back, wings, at the same time as the wings or a bit later is the tail. Tail finishes regrowing several weeks before the wing feathers.

Low producers take longer to go through molt than high producers. It takes the same amount of time to regrow a feather, the difference is in the rate they drop feathers.

Feeding and/or management invluences how early in the year she molts. "...the longer the fall molt can be delayed, the higher the annual egg production. It is just as important, however, not to go to the other extreme and delay molt so late in the fall that the birds do not have time to get their new coat before cold weather sets in."

All of the above is quotes and paraphrasing from 1952 text book "Poultry Management." All the pages of the molt section are in the pictures below if you want the whole section.

Thank you for the sharing! Now I understand why one of our high producing hen can keep laying while she is goin through molt. Much appreciated.