[farmers wife]

Is it possible? x50 hens  POL June 2015 & x25 hens POL October 15.   I havent kept a record of evidence of moult previously but there are a few feathers around the house.  I need to be on the ball now and plan purchases to overlap these time. From these dates can you plan moult at 11 months and the following year? How long does egg laying drop for 12 weeks?


Have had broody hens - ok now chests bare and quite a few feathers. Am I edging dangerously close to moult with my 1st lot? Egg drop today.

[Stereo]

You should be able to stagger the first moult buy getting POL early (March) and late (Oct). But there is no guarantee and after that they are all likely to do a second moult in the Autumn in my experience.

[Marches Farmer]

Impossible to predict exactly, in my experience.  My turkeys are starting to moult now, the chickens aren't.  I hatch between April and June (rare breed large fowl) and the youngsters start laying mid Winter, at the time the breeding stock is slowing down due to shorter daylight hours.  Most birds are sold in their second year, after hatching has stopped.  Last year many of my breeding birds were moulting in November.

[doganjo]

Is it possible? x50 hens  POL June 2015 & x25 hens POL October 15.   I havent kept a record of evidence of moult previously but there are a few feathers around the house.  I need to be on the ball now and plan purchases to overlap these time. From these dates can you plan moult at 11 months and the following year? How long does egg laying drop for 12 weeks?


Have had broody hens - ok now chests bare and quite a few feathers. Am I edging dangerously close to moult with my 1st lot? Egg drop today.

Should you not have done more research on this before now?  Perhaps breeds vary - mine do but I only have 8 - all different breeds.  My Maran cross hardly ever shows any feather loss for instance, nor my auracana cross, whereas my hyline and RIR are bare a lot of the time.  Egg production is not an issue for me but if it was I'd have investigated.