Helping Hens Through the Annual Moult

Why Hens Moult, and Why Timing Matters

Every autumn, usually between late August and November, your laying flock will start to look as though it has been in a scuffle. Feathers appear in the run, in the nest box and drifting about the garden, and hens that were glossy in July look ragged by October. This is the annual moult, triggered mainly by shortening day length, and it is one of the most demanding things a hen does all year.

Feathers are roughly 85 per cent protein, and replacing a full coat takes a great deal of energy and nutrients. Some hens go through a "soft moult", dropping a few feathers at a time and barely pausing in their laying. Others do it properly: they stop laying altogether, look positively oven-ready for a fortnight, and take their time growing back. Both are normal. Older hens usually moult harder and more slowly than pullets in their first full year.

The pattern of feather loss tells you a lot. Feathers normally drop from the head and neck first, then the breast and body, then the wings, with the tail last. A hen with a scruffy neck and a bald, red bottom is almost certainly moulting rather than unwell. The new feathers arrive as pin feathers – stiff quills wrapped in a waxy sheath that the hen preens away as they open.

Build the Ration Around Protein

Standard layers' pellets sit at around 16 to 17 per cent protein, which is fine for maintenance and egg production but tight for serious feather growth. For six to eight weeks, offer a higher-protein ration: a growers' or breeders' pellet at 18 to 20 per cent, or a dedicated moulting blend if your feed merchant stocks one. Keep this as the base of the diet rather than topping up an already-balanced feed with too many extras.

• Dried mealworms, calci worms and sunflower hearts are ideal, offered in a small handful per bird each day.
• A little tinned fish in spring water, or a plain scrambled egg, gives a quick protein boost to a hen who is looking particularly sorry for herself.
• Kitchen scraps are not permitted for poultry keepers in the UK, so stick to bought-in feeds and treats rather than raiding the fridge.
• Keep oystershell or limestone flour available at all times. Shell quality often dips after a moult, and a hen needs calcium ready for when laying resumes.
• Fresh, clean water matters more than ever. A moulting hen drinks considerably more than usual.

Reduce Handling and Keep Them Warm

Pin feathers are living tissue with a blood supply. They are tender, they bleed freely if knocked, and a hen will resent being picked up while they are coming through. This is the season to cut back on handling: postpone any treatment, worming or moving of birds that can safely wait, and let the flock have a quiet few weeks. If you must catch a hen, support her body fully and avoid gripping the wing or tail area.

Feathers are insulation, and a half-naked hen loses heat quickly. Keep the coop dry, well ventilated and free from draughts at bird height, and lay on plenty of deep, dry bedding. Bare skin also burns and scratches easily, so make sure there is shade in the run and a good dry dust bath available. If the weather turns wet and cold, a windbreak or a sheltered corner under a shed overhang will be appreciated. Never be tempted to put a hen in a heated shed – sudden warmth and poor ventilation cause more problems than they solve.

Rule Out Mites, Lice and Feather Pecking

Not every bald patch is a moult. Red mite, northern fowl mite and lice all cause feather loss, restlessness and a drop in condition, and a heavy infestation can look very like a hard moult from a distance. Check the coop after dark with a torch, running a finger along the underside of perches, and inspect the vent and the base of the feathers on a couple of birds. Lice lay clusters of eggs glued to the feather shafts; red mite leave grey ash-like debris in the crevices of the housing.

Feather pecking is another imposter. Pecked feathers have broken, ragged shafts rather than cleanly dropped quills, and the damage tends to concentrate on the back and vent. Bare skin and pin feathers are irresistible to a bored flockmate, so provide extra space, hanging greens, perches at different heights and a decent dust bath to divert attention. Any hen being persistently bullied should be separated until her feathers are back.

Patience with Eggs, and a Few Records

Laying usually stops or slows to a trickle during the moult, and that is exactly as it should be. A hen cannot build feathers and eggs at the same time, and pushing her with artificial light through the moult only strains the bird and produces poorer quality eggs. Let her do it naturally.

Most hens return to lay within a few weeks of the tail feathers finishing, though a hard moult can take eight to twelve weeks from start to finish. Expect the first eggs to be small, sometimes with thin shells, before things settle back to normal. Keep a simple note of who moulted when and how hard – over a few years it becomes a useful record of which hens are worth keeping and which are quietly winding down. A well-managed moult is not a problem to be fixed, just a season in the smallholding year, and a hen that comes through it in good condition will reward you with another year of steady laying.