Oh, no!
The ground is covered in feathers! Have we lost a chicken?
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, …
No. But, wait! There’s more.
The chickens’ shiny plumage is thinning, Mr. Rooster has lost his magnificent tail feathers, and the egg count is way, way down.
Considering that it is fall, that must mean the chickens are molting.
What is molting? Simply put: It is the shedding of old feathers and growing of new ones.
While molting can happen at other times of the year, the cooler temperatures and shorter days are what usually trigger a chicken to start the molting process. During the year, feathers can get damaged and these damaged feathers aren’t as sufficient at insulating a chicken during the winter as fresh, vibrantly new feathers are. Because of that, chickens drop their older feathers and grow new ones.
A chicken can sometimes look only slightly haggard during this time, like the ones I have pictured above, or they can drop so many feathers at once that you think they’re going bald (I wish I had a picture, next time!). As long as they start to regrow feathers in a matter of weeks, they’re fine. Though, if temperatures drop too fast, you might want to consider giving them a shelter from the cold and/or wind.
The molting season can last anywhere from 6 weeks to 16, with the average being 8-12. Older chickens usually take longer to go through the molting process and those known for proficient egg laying will, typically, have a quicker molting.
During this time, it is expected to have less egg production as their energy is going toward growing new feathers rather than egg laying. Sometimes, egg laying stops all together. Giving the chickens some extra protein in their diet helps as feathers are made up of 90 percent protein. Adding some raw apple cider vinegar into their water (1 tablespoon to 1 gallon a few times a week) helps to boost their immune system during this time and can aid in digestion. With raw apple cider vinegar, there are two items to point out:
- Never use apple cider vinegar in a metal container
- Giving chickens too much apple cider vinegar (I’m not sure what constitutes as too much, but the general rule has been 1 tablespoon to 1 gallon a few times a week) can hinder calcium absorption. This can result in eggs with a weaker shell.
And that is the basics of molting season. I will admit, even though we’ve been raising chickens for years now, I still get a chill when I see so many feathers on the ground.
