How to Support Chickens Through Moulting
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Moulting is a completely natural part of a chicken’s life cycle. During a moult, old feathers are shed and replaced with a fresh new set, usually over several weeks.
Growing feathers requires a considerable amount of energy and nutrients, particularly protein. At the same time, many hens will reduce or completely stop egg production while their bodies redirect resources towards feather growth.
Most chickens need very little intervention during a normal moult, but good nutrition and flock management can help support them through the process.
1. Prioritise Good Nutrition
Feathers are made predominantly from the protein keratin, so adequate dietary protein is particularly important while new feathers are being produced.
The foundation should always be a good-quality, nutritionally complete poultry feed appropriate for your birds.
During a heavy moult, additional protein can be useful, particularly if the existing diet is relatively low in protein. Suitable additions can include small amounts of cooked egg or mealworms, although supplements and treats should not replace a balanced complete feed.
Avoid dramatically increasing protein or relying heavily on treats. More is not necessarily better, and excessive supplementation can unbalance an otherwise well-formulated diet.
2. Support Their Increased Nutritional Demands
Moulting increases the nutritional demands placed on the body. Adequate vitamins and minerals are also important for normal feather development.
A balanced poultry diet should provide the majority of these nutrients. A quality Bird Vitamins supplement can also provide additional nutritional support during periods of increased demand, including moulting.
Supplements should complement a good diet rather than compensate for poor-quality feed.
3. Keep Fresh Water Available
Chickens should always have unrestricted access to clean, fresh drinking water.
Check drinkers regularly, particularly during hot weather, and position them somewhere that encourages the flock to drink throughout the day.
4. Minimise Unnecessary Stress
Moulting chickens can look fairly miserable, particularly during a heavy moult. New feathers initially emerge as sensitive pin feathers, which can make birds less comfortable being handled.
Try to minimise unnecessary handling and major changes to the flock or environment during this period. Give moulting birds plenty of space to rest and allow them to direct their energy towards growing new feathers.
5. Provide Good Shelter
A chicken going through a heavy moult temporarily loses some of the insulation normally provided by its feathers.
Make sure the coop remains dry, well ventilated and protected from wind and rain. Clean, dry bedding and somewhere sheltered to roost become particularly important during cold or wet weather.
Keep an eye on birds experiencing particularly heavy feather loss during poor weather.
6. Watch for Bullying
Pin feathers contain a blood supply while they are developing and can attract unwanted attention from other chickens if they become damaged.
Monitor the flock for feather pecking or bullying, particularly if one bird is moulting much more heavily than the others.
A bird being persistently targeted may need to be temporarily separated while remaining within sight of the flock where possible.
7. Continue Providing Dust-Bathing Areas
Dust bathing remains an important natural behaviour during the moult.
Provide access to a dry area of loose soil or sand where chickens can dust bathe naturally. There is generally no need to add powders or other products unless you are treating a specific problem.
8. Check for External Parasites
Not all feather loss is caused by moulting.
Lice and mites can also cause damaged feathers, irritation, excessive preening and feather loss. A moulting bird may simply make an existing parasite problem more noticeable.
Regularly inspect your chickens and their coop for evidence of external parasites. If the pattern of feather loss seems unusual, the skin is irritated, or the bird is excessively scratching or preening, investigate further rather than assuming it is simply the moult.
9. Don’t Worry About Reduced Egg Production
It is completely normal for egg production to decrease significantly or stop during a moult.
Producing both eggs and an entirely new set of feathers requires considerable resources. Many hens temporarily redirect those resources towards feather production instead.
Egg laying will generally return once the moult is complete, although age, season and daylight hours will also influence production.
10. Give Them Time
A normal moult can take several weeks, and some chickens will look considerably worse before they look better.
You usually don’t need to make the process complicated.
Provide a good-quality diet, plenty of fresh water, shelter, low stress and time.
Keep an eye out for anything that doesn’t fit with a normal moult, including weight loss, lethargy, persistent skin irritation, heavy parasite burdens or feather loss that fails to improve.
With good basic care, most chickens will navigate their moult perfectly well and emerge with a fresh new set of feathers.
By Sam Hurley and Jemma McLean