Solitary chicken - need advice

[Eggshell]

I remember that the chooks started eating a fair bit more when they came into lay. Does it follow that, when they're not laying, they will eat less again? My three have slowed down/stopped laying for the winter and at least one of them has started moulting. They also seem to be eating a little bit less than they were. Is this normal?

[Chickabee]

They're eating less because they're awake for fewer hours. Their appetite will wain when they are moulting

[Beantree]

Our non-laying hen eats about half as much as the laying hens she lives with Eggshell. Margo is a Gold Laced Wyandotte and has never laid an egg in her life and she will be 5 years old in Spring. But she is very pretty and has a lovely gentle nature.

 

But that reduced amount increases slightly in the moult and a lot in cold weather, so in Winter when they are not laying they will eat almost as much as they did in Summer when they were laying. That's up to 150 grammes a day for a large fowl. When worming I work on a consumption of 1Kg of feed for each laying hen over the 7 day period.

 

We have cockerels that double their food intake when moulting, but they have a lot more feathering to grow I suppose.

[Chickabee]

I got it wrong again I was sure my girls were eating less whilst moulting. Next time I post I will say. I think?

[sjp]

my lot eat just as much while moulting with the odd exceptions who don't handle the moult well do to the fact they moult in half the time of the rest. but I find that feed consumption goes up just after they have finished the bulk of the moult. keeping mainly naked neck crosses I can easily see who's got over sized crops

I find the cockerels are slow moulters Boris the old man takes at least 6 months to moult he literally grows one or two feathers at a time this year the way he's going it'll July next year before he finishes just in time to start again