To Molt or not to Molt...

Once you chickens are over a year old they will begin to go through a phase called Molting. This is where their current feathers fall out and new feathers grow in. The entire process can vary per bird. It is said that your most prominent layers will molt the fastest as opposed to your infrequent layers they will molt the longest. This could vary from a few weeks to months depending on your hens.
  During this time there could be a significant decrease in egg production. Hens use a lot of effort and protein in their bodies to develop the new feathers and push them out to be full grown. Therefore, the protein they use to generate eggs is supplemented to complete the molting process. We have noticed that some hens, such as our White Leghorns continue to lay as they molt. My assumption is because they are such a fantastic egg laying breed that they are able to multi-task. Where as our Australorps are molting the hardest. They have been molting for months now and do not tell them I said this but, they have looked better. Poor girls!
  Molting typically starts from the neck and works its way down the body. You will not have a fully naked chickens running around. I chuckle just at the thought of that! But they will have bare spots. Our Australorps do not have many feathers on their neck. It looks incredibly strange, almost to the point where you think they are ill but I can assure you they are happy as can be!
   During the molting season we mix our feed with layer feed and feather fixer. The laying feed will help give them the calcium and other nutrients they need for their laying and the feather fixer will increase their protein consumption to help them grow new feathers.
 In an effort to make sure their protein levels stay high, every few days I will give them plain yogurt. Recently I started giving them plain Greek yogurt because the levels of protein in it is incredibly high. I also make scrambled eggs and mix in sunflower seed and chopped non-salted peanuts to give them an extra boost.
   There are a few signs you can look for to see if you need to included these other protein options for your hens. The hens will begin to crack and eat the eggs they lay in the egg boxes. Granted this sometimes occurs by mistake. One gets stepped on and breaks so they eat it. Other times it is intentional because they are seeking calcium from the shell and protein from the egg itself. Other clues are the chickens will start eating the feathers off the ground that others have shed. Or they will start plucking the feathers from one another and consuming them. It does not sound pleasant but protein is what they are searching for.
   I should also mention that before your hens go through their adult molt each year they do molt a few times as youngsters. When they are baby chicks they molt their down and grow their first round of feathers. They then molt their teenage feathers to get their adult feathers. The first few molts are not as intense or as noticeable.
  Molting is an uncomfortable process for hens so the best thing we can do it make sure they have access to proper food, water and shelter. They can take care of the rest! Happy Molting!