Moulting

[cuwiar]

Can hens going through the moult lose some feathers but still be growing new ones at the same time or do they lose all then grow all in different stages.

Also, can they continue to lay while moulting?

Also, do they normally have a small, narrow area of skin that runs from from front to back across their belly that is bald all the time??

 

[chrismahon]

They lose them in stages but generally never go bald in any area. We have had some who have lost them so fast they were just covered in short new ones. Some breeds are bald along the breast bone. There is little depth to the skin there anyway. In Storey's Guid to Raising Chickens they say head, neck, back, breast, stern,thighs, wings and tail. In my experience it is wings first and neck last!

We've had one lay whilst moulting. Not good as she wasn't putting enough into feathering up and the moult has taken 4 months so far! Generally they stop laying as soon as they start moulting, which is why commercial flocks are killed at 18 months -first moult time for a hybrid hen.

 

[cuwiar]

Thanks Chris, just can't figure what's going on with my skinny girl. When they moult do they eventually replace every single feather?

 

[chrismahon]

In our experience some replace every one on every moult. Some have alternate years of moulting to different degrees. Bottom, our pet, lost all his sickle tail feathers this year for the first time in two years. Some hardly moult at all and some seem to be moulting little bits all year.

 

[cuwiar]

I don't think she is moulting then. It's all very peculiar!!

 

[Chuck]

Sometimes they have a partial moult and don't change all the feathers but usually they change them all. They seldom lay when in a full moult as their energy goes into producing new feathers. They just need time to get through the moult and if they are on a layers diet, don't need anything else.