{"id":113384,"date":"2023-10-03T13:00:51","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T17:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/?p=113384"},"modified":"2023-10-02T10:14:17","modified_gmt":"2023-10-02T14:14:17","slug":"flying-feathers-a-few-facts-about-chicken-molting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/flying-feathers-a-few-facts-about-chicken-molting\/","title":{"rendered":"Flying Feathers: A Few Facts About Chicken Molting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/when-chickens-are-molting-feathers-fly-everywhere\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Molting season<\/a><\/strong> is right around the corner. If your coop isn&#8217;t full of flying feathers yet, you can be sure it probably will be soon. But there&#8217;s no reason to worry\u2014molting is a completely natural process for poultry. The editors of<\/em> Chickens\u00a0<em>rounded up a handful of facts and tips to help you <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/when-chickens-are-molting-care-is-key-to-comfort\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">better understand molting<\/a><\/strong>, as well as <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/5-protein-sources-offer-molting-chickens\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">help your chicken flock<\/a><\/strong> through this eggless season of feather loss.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Some chicken breeds, such as Silkies, may undergo a less noticeable<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>&#8220;mini molt&#8221; throughout the year<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>in which they shed and regrow<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>a few feathers at a time<span class=\"s1\">.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\">This feather loss<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>phenomenon starts to<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>happen at around<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>18 months of age and<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>then occurs annually.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\">The process of<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>molting requires a lot of energy<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>from the chicken,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>which is why they may appear more tired or lethargic than usual.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Molting usually lasts<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"s1\">anywhere from two to <\/span><span class=\"s2\">four months, depend<\/span><span class=\"s1\">ing on the chicken breed and individual bird.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"s1\">During molting, hens typically stop laying eggs or may lay<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"s1\">significantly fewer eggs.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\">Chickens may also lose weight during molting due to the energy demands of feather regrowth.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Molting chickens require a higher protein diet to support feather regrowth, which can be provided through supplements or high protein feed.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\">Molting chickens may be more susceptible to stress, illness and predators due to their weakened state.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/extension.msstate.edu\/content\/molting-laying-hens\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Molting typically occurs<\/a><\/strong> in the fall or early winter,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>but it can also happen in the spring or summer.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>This article originally appeared in the September\/October 2023 issue of\u00a0<\/em>Chickens\u00a0<em>magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn more about molting, the natural process in which a chicken sheds old feathers and grows new ones, by <i>Chickens<\/i> magazine editors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":332,"featured_media":113386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[424,10726,10458,10725,10728,10456],"tags":[654,1604,8161,3649,1015],"class_list":["post-113384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animals","category-chickens-101","category-farm-garden","category-flock-talk","category-health-and-nutrition","category-poultry","tag-chickens","tag-fall","tag-feathers","tag-molting","tag-winter"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.0 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - 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