For the last two months the chickens have been molting. This is a process where old feathers are shed and new feathers are grown. This process isn’t fun for the chickens or me. As they shed their feathers they walk around looking unruly, a bit mopey, shiver, and longingly look at me for more dried grubs. I’m a sucker and a shivering chicken is very convincing, so they always get a handful of treats. During the molt their egg production goes down, or as with my hens it completely stops. This also sucks because then I’m out of breakfast and although I joke about how pretentious Sweet Pea is, I’m now pretty damn snooty when it comes to picking out store bought eggs. But, I want the ladies to go through their natural processes so I don’t use lighting or heat lamps to speed the molt process and egg laying up.
Instead I look for ways to keep them warm, comfortable, and well fed as nature takes its course. However, Sweet Pea must have gotten wind that I bought eggs from another flock (aka. the grocery store) because she began laying again on the lunar eclipse so I’ve declared her my “moon chicken”. Miss Leggs is thankfully looking less pathetic then when this picture was taken and began growing feathers back just before the snow came. I’m not only a crazy plant lady, I’m also now a crazy chicken lady and monitor weather, egg laying routines, and measure feather growth. It’s a glamorous life, but some chicken mom’s gotta do it.
As a chicken keeper my job is to keep the ladies as comfortable and healthy as possible during their molt, I obsess about this role more than necessary but also believe we have a responsibility to the animals we raise. Here are some ways I took care of my flock while going through their molt:
Provide extra protein snacks (e.g. grubs, scrambled eggs, oatmeal)
Keep fresh, clean water with added drops of VetRX to support blood flow
Frequently cleaned the coop
Extra-winterize the coop to keep it warm and dry (e.g. board up walls, keeping some air flow)
Add an extra layer of dry bedding (e.g. straw, shavings)
Dust the coop and bedding with Diatomaceous Earth (DE) to keep out mites
