Why Chickens Molt, When It Happens & What You Can Do To Help

If you’ve recently gone out into your chicken coop or yard and noticed what looks like a group of kids at a wild sleepover have had a massive down pillow fight, then chances are your chickens are going through their annual molt!

As a new chicken keeper, seeing a scene like the one just described can be a bit alarming. However, chickens losing their feathers is a natural occurrence that happens every year once chickens reach a certain age.

Molting is the process where birds shed their old feathers and new ones replace them. Most chickens start to molt at the top of their head, working their way to the tail, but this can vary on each individual bird.

In fact, some chickens go through more intense molts leaving them almost completely bald while you might not even notice others molting at all. Either way, as long as your chickens are healthy and have no external parasites, then you don’t need to worry about molting.

If molting is a new concept for you or if you just want to learn a little more about it, I’ll dive into what causes chickens to molt, when it typically happens, and what you can do to help your girls through the process.

Why Chickens Molt And How You Can Help

The First Chicken Juvenile Molts

Chickens actually go through three different types of molts. The first one occurs when they are just 6 to 8 days old and lasts until they are around 4 weeks old. During this timeframe, all those adorable, fuzzy downy feathers that make baby chicks so cute start to get replaced with their first feathers.

The chicks then go through a second juvenile molt around the time they are 8 to 12 weeks old. During this quick molt, those first tiny feathers are replaced with their second set.

It’s at this time that you can start to see the identifying feathers of roosters start to take shape. While you can’t always use this to judge whether your sexed chicks are roos or hens, the appearance of long and pointy saddle feathers as well as sickle tail feathers can indicate that you have a rooster on your hands.

So far, I’ve been lucky and all of my sexed chicks have been females. Because of that, I don’t have any images of those types of feathers to show you. A quick search on the internet will give you a good indication of both saddle and sickle tail feathers of roosters if you want to see what those look like.

The Big Annual Molt

Even those juvenile molts might leave you with a few feathers here and there in your coop or run, they aren’t quite as substantial as an adult chicken’s annual molt. Once the chickens hit around 16 to 18 months old, they can have their first annual molt.

For adult birds, the reduced daylight hours trigger the annual molt. This usually corresponds with the fall and early winter months, but that might vary depending on your location.

However, sometimes there are other triggers that can bring about a molt. Issues like extreme heat, poor nutrition, physical stress, unusual lighting conditions, lack of fresh water, or even a broody hen can cause molting. In addition, always check your birds for mites and lice because they too can cause feather loss in chickens.

The annual molt can take anywhere from just a couple of weeks up to 12 weeks for chickens to complete. On average though, most chickens will finish their annual molt in about 8 weeks.

Molting & Reduced Egg Production

In addition to molting, chickens will also start to lay fewer eggs during the same timeframe. The reduced egg production is also due to the fewer daylight hours. So not only do you have feathers all over your coop but you are probably seeing fewer and fewer eggs in your nesting boxes. It’s definitely a double whammy for backyard chicken keepers!

In order for a chicken to produce new feathers, their bodies use up a lot of nutrients and well as energy. This can also have an effect on how many eggs a molting chicken can produce.

Some will slow way down on egg production while others might stop completely. Don’t be surprised if most of your girls don’t start laying again until late winter or early spring when molting is completely finished and daylight hours have increased. Here in Illinois, we started to get eggs again toward the middle of February.

All About The New Feathers

New emerging feathers are often referred to as “pin feathers.” These small feathers are surrounded by a thin waxy, paper-like coating. As the feather grows, this coating gets broken off or preened off by the chicken. (That’s part of the reason why chickens are so dusty this time of year!)

These new feathers contain a blood supply that runs up through the middle of the feather’s shaft. If any of these feathers are injured, the chicken will bleed pretty heavily.

If you see bleeding, remove the chicken, check for injury, and care for them as needed. However, most broken feather shafts will heal on their own. Just try to remove as much of the blood as possible to prevent other chickens from pecking the same area. We like to spray the injured area with Vetericyn as well. (Product Link: Vetericyn Plus Poultry Care Spray)

Cleaning The Coop

If your coop is like ours and includes an enclosed run for the chickens, chances are you have been seeing the feathers piling up higher and higher. While you don’t have to remove the feathers, I like to scoop up the old feathers to keep the sand in our coop a little tidier than it’d be otherwise.

To do this, I have a simple system that works quickly and easily. Please note that if you use a different type of litter in your coop and run beside sand, this method might not work for you.

The tools I use are an inexpensive small rake, a 12″ sifter, and a kitty litter scoop. With these three items, feather cleanup (and in our case leaf cleanup as well) is fast and easy. (Product Links: This is similar to the rake I use, my 12″ Soil Sifter, and the Extendable Kitty Litter Scoop)

I use the rake to scrape the feathers, poop, and leaves into multiple small piles throughout the run. Next, I use the kitty litter scoop to dump them into the sifter. Lastly, I gently shake the sifter until the sand is separated from the rest of the mess. The feathers and leaves can then go into your trash or compost pile. It’s simple but works like a charm!

How You Can Help – Why Chickens Molt

Feathers are made up of about 80-85% protein. Because of this, you should increase the amount of protein in your chicken’s diet. I like to do this by simply purchasing chicken feed that is specific for molting chickens. That way I know the birds are still getting the same nutrients and ingredients required in a formula they can easily digest and use.

You can also purchase a feed that is higher in protein. For example, most normal chicken feed is around 16% protein. Instead, opt instead for a feed that is around 18 to 19% protein while the adult chickens are going through their annual molt.

During their annual molt, try not to stress the birds out too much. For example, don’t introduce new chicks to your flock or move them to a new coop during this timeframe. Lastly, avoid handling the chickens as much as possible. It’s said that emerging pin feathers are very sensitive and can be painful if touched.

Before you know it, your chickens will be free of their old, weathered feathers and sporting a brand-new, beautiful coat to keep them warm and protected for the rest of the year. That is, until their next annual molt!

Until next time, thanks for stopping by!
– Chelsea

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