If you have long periods of time where your laying hens are unproductive, meaning they stop laying eggs or only produce a few, you may need to keep records and look at the molting times for each chicken.

It’s easy to tell when your chickens are molting because it usually looks like an exploded feather pillow in the coop. There are feathers everywhere, and you can see the spots listed below where the bird is missing feathers.

Study these patterns in your flock, and when you have new chicks, try asking the seller questions about this molting behavior. If he or she is concerned about egg production, they will already know the molting patterns of their flocks.

Every year, chickens shed their skin. They lose their old feathers and gain new ones. That usually means they stop laying eggs during this time as well. Those hens that continue to lay eggs will have a long molting time.

There are early and late movers. The first moltors will only lay eggs for a brief period of a few months before molting, and they are not the best layers. Their moulting feathers will look a little better than late molts. Late moulters will lay for about a year before molting, and are their best layers. Late feathers will have a rougher appearance during moult than early ones.

Feather loss and regrowth is constant, so it’s not hard to tell when it occurs and whether each is an early or late molt. The first to molt will only lose a couple of feathers at a time and can take 4-6 months to moult. Late moults have a shorter moult period of 2–3 months and moult rapidly. Late moults will return to production quickly because shedding and feather growth occur at the same time, shortening the moult period.

The order in which the feathers are lost will always be the same as follows:

• head

• Neck

• Mother

• Body

• Wings: The outer or primary flight feathers are shed first from the center, followed by the secondary flight feathers. Late moults will lose their primary feathers in pairs or groups and early moults will lose one at a time.

• Line

If you know the molting patterns of your chickens, it’s easier to tell which chickens are profitable and which are free-roaming. Sometimes it is easier to cull the most unproductive birds than to maintain feed and care costs to get a minimal return on eggs.