Molting and Egg Production

Barred Rock hen, molting in November.

The question I get asked the most this time of year is “why have my chickens stopped laying?”

So today, we’re going to talk about molting. 

Molting is the process of losing old and damaged feathers, and growing new ones

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When does molting occur?

Soft molts happen several times in a chicken's life; between 1 and six weeks after hatching, again at 7 to 9 weeks, at 12 to 13 weeks, then finally at 20 to 22 weeks.  These molts are not so extreme, and are a part of the maturing process. You might not even really notice they're happening, unless you're paying especially close attention.

After these soft molts, chickens will go through an bi-annual hard molt. As days shorten at the end of summer and into fall, this triggers the annual molting process. You  may notice an abundance of feathers in their run. They may look scraggly, or even have bald patches on their necks or bodies. Growing new feathers can be painful; your otherwise normally social birds may be cranky and skittish. 

Your birds will experience their second molt of the year in the spring, as they shed the extra feathers that kept them warm though the winter.  This molt is typically subtle, and again, you may not notice. The exception is a hen who goes into a hard molt after brooding chicks, or if your birds are under an extreme amount of stress.

Molting and egg production

Growing new feathers uses a tremendous amount of energy - in hens, it is the same energy that is usually used to produce eggs. Typically, a molt usually lasts from 7-8 weeks, but a range of 4 to 12 weeks is still within the norm. 

Care during molting season

As your birds molt, there are things you can do to make the process easier for them.  Keep stress levels low, which is generally achieved by NOT doing certain things:

• Don’t move their run or coop

• Don’t introduce new birds into the flock

• Don’t handle them; as previously mentioned, molting can be painful, and handling them can exacerbate an already-painful procedure. 

DO switch to a feed with a higher protein content (20-22%), or supplement with extra protein. 

If you are relying on eggs to meet your daily protein intake, then when your hens are done molting, you can put a light in their coop in the early mornings through the winter months.  This simulated daylight can stimulate egg production and keep you and your family fed. 

As a side note, this is not something I myself choose to practice; I prefer to allow my hens bodies to get the rest they need in the winter months. I have found that egg production slows, like clockwork, between November 1 and February 1, but with hens who were hatched the fall prior, I’m still getting 6-8 eggs a day from a flock of 20.