This is the time of year for our chickens to start molting, the article below describes all about chickens molting and what you should feed them. I love Nutrena food for my chickens, I use all of their products year round, their newest product Feather Fixer is perfect to use for this molting season. I also purchase chicken saddles from Louise's Country Closet, she has the best saddles that will last years to keep your chickens warm during this time.
What is molt? Molt is the natural shedding of feathers and regrowth of new ones. This usually happens in the fall as day length shortens. It is the chickens way to refresh old feathers and grow new ones for the coming winter. Molt happens in an expected order, starting at the head, down the back, breast and ending on the wings and tails.
There are two types of molt that chickens can go through, hard and soft. A hard molt means all feathers are lost at nearly the same time. A soft molt, however, means feathers are lost over a longer period of time. Chickens use molt to build up their nutrient reserves and typically slow or even stop laying eggs during this time. Though they are not laying eggs, it is important that your chicken continues to need a high quality diet since feathers consist of approximately 85% protein!
How to help your chickens get through molt
Another way to help your chickens through molt is to reduce stress as much as possible. Try to avoid handling your chickens, and bringing new birds into the flock, if possible. Molt is a normal process, so your chickens shouldn’t act differently, even though they make look very different. In total, molt will take between 4-16 weeks, depending if it is a hard or soft molt. You do not need to add any medications or other vitamins if you are already feeding a high quality and high protein feed. So don’t panic the next time your chickens start to lose their feathers and stop laying eggs! Instead, use these tips to help ease the process.
This information comes from Nutrena: http://scoopfromthecoop.nutrenaworld.com/molting-the-naked-truth/?utm_source=poultryclub&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Poultry%20Club%20Emails
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