Chickens moulting

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Gwenoakes
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Chickens moulting

Post by Gwenoakes »

Are anyone else's chickens moulting?
4 out of my 7 have and are moulting now and look almost oven ready. They have always moulted at this time of year and according to the person I bought them off none of hers have.
They have had all sorts and every sort of tonic etc to help, have a really good diet, are cleaned out very regularly and yet they moult this time of year.
Anyone else got any ideas why?

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kitla
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Re: Chickens moulting

Post by kitla »

quite normal. Mine have about finished now, but there seems to be plenty that are still moulting. Even the wildbirds are looking a bit patchy.
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KarenE
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Re: Chickens moulting

Post by KarenE »

It's perfectly natural, they usually moult anytime from Sept onwards. Mine are all going through it at the moment.

If your friend's hens haven't moulted, that would be very unusual unless they were Point-of-Lay this year - younger birds really come into their first proper moult around 18 months (which is why the farmers move them on around that age) - previous to this they can have a light moult. Or it may be that your friend's hens are very light and protracted moulters.
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Gwenoakes
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Re: Chickens moulting

Post by Gwenoakes »

Thanks for your replies, ladies.
It isn't my friend Karen, but the person I bought the chickens off and they even had a huge moult after getting them in the Oct, they all went into oven ready mode and they were only 16 - 20 weeks old then and just coming into lay.
I think it is a silly time to moult when the weather is turning, but obviously not after reading your replies. Many thanks.
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Mo
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Re: Chickens moulting

Post by Mo »

Gwenoakes wrote: 13 Nov 2020, 11:44
I think it is a silly time to moult when the weather is turning, but obviously not after reading your replies. Many thanks.
Yes, I always thought that when mine did it.
Wonder if we've mucked up their clocks by breeding out broodiness. I suspect that they would need replace worn feathers after the strains of raising chicks, to be ready for winter. I think some of us find that the hens that go broody then moult before starting to lay again.
It's often colder after the shortest day, so I suppose the change of daylength triggers it.
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Gwenoakes
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Re: Chickens moulting

Post by Gwenoakes »

Wonder if we've mucked up their clocks by breeding out broodiness. I suspect that they would need replace worn feathers after the strains of raising chicks, to be ready for winter. I think some of us find that the hens that go broody then moult before starting to lay again.
It's often colder after the shortest day, so I suppose the change of daylength triggers it.
[/quote]

As you maybe remember, Mo mine are broody on a continuous basis, but thinking about moulting after broodiness, this has happened this time with them all. Broody for weeks, now moulting and thinking back they do lay after that. So there is light at the end of the tunnel.........yay.

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