Chicken Keeping: Molting

What is Molting? 

Each year, chickens go through molting. This is when chickens will drop many of their feathers and regrow new fresh feathers for winter. This happens to hens and roosters and is triggered by shorter daylight, so you can expect your birds to molt in the fall.

Your chickens will look ragged. Don’t worry! Molting doesn’t hurt your chickens, this is a natural process. You should not make attempts to stop molting. This molting and regrowth is a sign of a healthy bird that is going through a resting stage after the laying season.  

How Long Does it Last? 

Typically, a chicken will typically molt for 7-8 weeks. Don’t be concerned if the molt lasts 12-14 weeks. 

What To Expect

When your chickens are molting, they will drop the majority of their feathers and regrow new shoots that will turn into feathers. You’ll start to notice feathers dropping around the head and neck first.

As they regrow their feathers you will see the shoots of their feathers coming through as blue or black, depending on the feather of your birds. Don’t mess with these. If you notice a bird is picking at their feathers or other birds are picking at a chicken’s feathers, remove the affected bird to isolation and treat the wound with Wonder Dust.

Your chicken coop will look like someone had a pillow fight. 

What to Do to Help

Adding Protein

Help your chickens regrow their new fresh feathers and get back to laying eggs by bumping up the protein in their diet. Chicken keepers can add protein to their bird’s diet by buying a layer feed with a higher protein content, adding mealworms, seeds, eggs (yup, you read that right), worms, fodder. I’ve heard some folks have luck with cat food, too. Chickens are omnivores, so feel free to get creative! More protein is the goal. 

Still Keep an Eye Out for Illness

When birds are molting hard, it’s a little shocking and it can be easy to miss more subtle cues of illness. Be sure to keep an eye out for any of your chickens that isolate themselves from the rest of the flock, are hunched over and puffed up, eye closed, look generally lame, have a sneeze, are gaping, or have runny poops. 

Let them Recover

Let your chicken’s molting process continue uninterrupted and support them through plenty of food, water, and clean shelter. Your chickens just worked very hard throughout the laying season and this is nature’s way of giving them a break from laying eggs. Allow them to have that rest. 

Learn More

To learn more about your flock, check out our guide “What No One Tells You About Keeping Chickens“.