Fall Molt

You may be noticing more and more feathers blowing around your property or you may be concerned that the number of eggs you’re getting each day is starting to decrease. If this is your first fall molt, you may be worried that your birds are in someway unhealthy. Every fall your birds will lose their old feathers and grow in brand new healthy feathers— molt. This is important to keep them warm throughout the cooler winter months. Adult birds will molt each fall and it will last for several weeks. There are a few key things that you can do to support your birds during their molt to keep them healthy and safe.

Each bird will be a little different, and how extreme their molt appears. Some birds will show no real external signs of molting, while others will become close to naked!

The first thing you can do is on top of their regular feed is to add in extra protein and calcium to their daily feeding. This will help to support them nutritionally while they are growing new feathers. Also, I also feed the highest protein all flock food I can.

Sources of protein to add:

Dried grubs and mealworms

scrambled eggs

cooked meat

bone broth

dried high protein herbs - basil, oregano, parsley, dill

soaked oats - I soak in bone broth

earthworms

Quinoa

peas

canned tuna

seeds

Sources of Calcium:

Crushed egg shelves

Ouster shell

Simply add to their feed dishes

The second thing you can do is to reduce any stress. Make sure they are not being stressed by predators by securing them in the coop or run at night. Be sure the roosters aren’t over-mating them to a point that it is causing injury or stress. This is not a good time to introduce new flock members or change around the coop. Overcrowding may cause stress. I’ll be adding an extra roosting bar to my coop to allow the birds to spread out during roosting.

Chickens and ducks are a prey animal and it takes a lot for them to show any signs of distress, pain or injury. If you’re noticing a bird that is lethargic, laying down a lot or has any open wounds, remove that bird and keep it separate until it heals and regains strength.

New feathers, called the pin feathers are full of blood. These feathers are very sensitive and can be painful as they are coming in. I’d limit how much I hold my birds during this time. I also consistently check for any wounds or signs of excess bleeding and administer any first aid if necessary.

Your duck and chicken hens will likely stop laying during the molds or only lay one or two eggs per week. Your drakes and roosters will be infertile during the molt. This is normal, and typical as all of their nutritional resources are going into growing new feathers. Once the molt is over, they will go back to the regular laying schedule for late fall/early winter.

This is the perfect time to bring out and use the eggs that you have preserved by water glassing (!) during the summer months. See this post for more info.

Happy molting!