Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens (52 page)

The first color loss in the sequence is in the skin around the vent, which is renewed quite rapidly. Just a few days after a pullet starts to lay, her vent changes from yellow to pinkish, whitish, or bluish. Next to bleach is the eye ring. Within 3 weeks, the earlobes of Mediterranean breeds bleach out; hens with red lobes do not lose ear color.

The beak’s color fades from the corner outward toward the tip, with the lower beak fading faster than the upper beak. In breeds that typically have dark upper beaks, such as Rhode Island Red and New Hampshire, only the lower beak is a good indicator.

The best indicators of long-term production are the shanks, since they bleach last. Color loss starts at the bottoms of the feet, moves to the front of the shanks, and gradually works upward to the hocks.

BLEACHING SEQUENCE

BLEACHING SEQUENCE

Pigment is bleached from the skin in this sequence (and is restored in reverse order).

Short day lengths serve as a signal to birds that it’s time to renew plumage in preparation for migration and the coming cold weather. Like most birds, chickens lose and replace their feathers at approximately 1-year intervals. The process, called
molting
, occurs over a period of weeks, so a chicken never looks completely naked — although occasionally one comes close. Under natural circumstances a chicken molts for 14 to 16 weeks during the late summer or early fall.

The best layers molt late and fast. They lay eggs for a year or more before molting — which is why your good layers look so ragged — and take only 2 to 3 months to finish the molt.

The poorest layers start early and molt slowly. They may lay for only a few months before going into a molt, and the molt may take as long as 6 months — which is why the plumage of lazy hens remains shiny and sleek. Culling slow molters is a good way to improve your flock’s laying average. These hens are easy to identify because they start molting before September and drop their wings’ primary flight feathers one at a time.

Although no one has found a direct connection between molting and laying, common sense tells you that during a molt, nutrients needed to produce eggs are channeled into producing plumage. As a result, most hens stop laying until the molt is complete, so culling during the fall molt on the basis of nonlaying is a bad idea — you could end up getting rid of your best hens.

Molting may occur out of season as a result of disease or stress, such as chilling or going without water or feed. A stress-induced molt is usually partial and does not always cause a drop in laying, while a normal full molt is typically accompanied by at least a slowdown.

Since feathers are 85 percent protein, a chicken’s need for dietary protein increases during the annual molt. When your chickens are about to molt, their plumage will take on a dull look. A little supplemental animal protein will help them through it, as well as improve the plumage of show birds. Compared to the protein in grains, animal protein is rich in the amino acids a chicken needs during the molt. Animal protein can come from any of the following:

High-quality cat food (not dog food, which often derives its protein from grains)

Raw meat from a reliable source (not chicken; feeding an animal the meat of its own species is a good way to perpetuate diseases)

Fish (but don’t feed fish to a chicken you plan to eat anytime soon or the meat may taste fishy)

Molting food, sold by pet stores for caged song birds (it’s expensive but lets you avoid potentially toxic pet foods and bacteria-laden meats)

Mashed, scrambled, or hard-boiled eggs

Sprouted grains and seeds, particularly alfalfa and sesame seeds (sprouting improves the quantity and quality of the proteins)

Mealworms

Earthworms

The molting sequence.
Molting occurs in a specific sequence, starting with the head and neck feathers. The newly emerging feathers are called pinfeathers, or sometimes blood feathers because they contain a supply of blood to nourish the growing feather. Blood feathers, especially around the tail and along the back, attract picking at a time when molting chickens crave additional protein, so watch for and deal with picking before it turns into a full-blown case of cannibalism. Once a feather is fully formed, the blood supply is cut off and no further growth occurs, so broken feathers stay broken until the next molt.