You may have just got your baby chickens and realize they are just really adorable and furry, but then realize they don’t even look like they have feathers! So you might be wondering, when do chickens get their feathers?
On average, chickens start getting their feathers at 6-8 days old. At 8-12 weeks, chickens start replacing baby feathers with contour feathers. Lastly, your chicken will change out feathers at 18 months old.
Chickens go through many phases of feathers throughout their life, and the below article will dive into each one. Also, we will go through exactly what molting is and how you can help your chicken during this process.
What is a Chicken’s Down?
A down is a small light fluffy coat that a chicken is born with. This coat is best visible after a baby chick has dried after being hatched. This coat is designed to keep chicks warm and regulate their body temperature. This stage lasts for about 6 days, so enjoy your soft babies while you can! During this period, make sure your baby chicks stay dry and warm. Even though the baby chicks will huddle together for warmth, we recommend keeping them inside with a heat lamp during this stage. If your baby chicks have a mother hen, don’t worry she will take good care of them!
When do Chickens get their baby Feathers?
Chickens start getting their baby feathers starting around day 6-8. They look very unkempt like they just woke up from an amazing nap, you’ll have feathers going every which direction! Once we see these feathers coming in, we tend to reduce the heat. We usually notice they aren’t huddling together quite as much – meaning they aren’t needing the warmth like they were with just the down. Keep an eye on them for sure though, if they start huddling, go ahead and put the heat back to them. During this phase their personality will start to show up, they tend to run around their enclosure more while you’re taking care of them. They seem to get startled more easily and can get the zoomies!
When do Chickens get their Contour Feathers?
At 6 weeks of age, your chicken should be getting their contour feathers, also known as juvenile feathers. Contour feathers are the most visible and prominent feathers on a chicken. They are long, stiff, and have a tapered shape, which helps to provide insulation and protection against the elements. Contour feathers give the bird its distinctive shape and are the ones we see most often. At 8-12 weeks all the body feathers should be replaced, but the tail feathers may be lagging a bit, so they may not be the prettiest birds around! At 12-16 weeks you’ll notice that the tail feathers should be coming in nicely and your chickens will look like…well, chickens. Hooray!
When do Chickens Molt?
At 18 months, your chickens will start their first adult molting process and replace their old feathers with beautiful new plumage. Molting is essentially when the chickens lose their feathers and grow new ones in their place. This will be the first of many molts for your chickens! We go into more detail on the molting process below.
How often do Chickens Molt?
The final phase of a chicken’s feathering process is the yearly adult molting. Sometimes your chicken can molt up to two times per year, but usually, the first molt will only be a few feathers. In the fall, chickens go through a more vigorous molting, replacing quite a few feathers in preparation for winter. It’s also worth noting that every chicken is different, so one chicken may lose all their feathers while others may only lose a few during the molting process. Even though molting is a very normal process, it can look pretty rough if you’ve never seen a chicken molt before. Rest assured molting will not harm your chicken. Also, don’t be alarmed if you’re not getting eggs during the molting period, as chickens need more protein to replace feathers, they simply don’t have enough to keep laying eggs. But rest assured, they will start laying again once they can spare the protein!
How Can You Help a Chicken while it’s Molting?
1. Protein
Chickens are amazing creatures, they go through so many phases of feathers. One way you can greatly help your chickens is to make sure they have plenty of protein to snack on. Usually, your chickens are already on a laying pellet that has protein in it, but to help with molting we want to swap to a more protein-packed feed. For this reason, we recommend swapping your normal laying pellet out for a 20% protein chicken feed. If you’re able to let your chickens free-range, then you have a huge advantage since they will get plenty of protein from all the bugs they consume around your property including worms, grasshoppers, centipedes, etc. However, if your chickens are cooped up, you will have to provide additional protein for them yourself. Thankfully, you can get plenty of protein-packed snacks at your local feed store. Most feed stores have dried mealworms, which are a significant source of protein for your chickens. I’ve also noticed that Walmart carries the mealworms, in case you’d rather pick them up on your grocery trip, yum!
2. Stress
During molting, it’s important to keep your chickens very comfortable and stress-free. Make sure your chicken feels safe by having secure structures to keep out predators. Each chicken also needs to have enough space, at least 4 square feet of space per chicken. Not having ample space can cause chickens to peck at one another, which could be harmful to the molting process. Also, during this time, do not disrupt their routine if at all possible. Sudden changes to their environment can cause chickens to become stressed as well. Another overlooked area that can cause stress to chickens that can be remedied quite easily is a dirty environment. Make sure their nesting, roosting, and roaming areas are clean and well-maintained. Lastly, make sure your chicken has clean water at all times – which can be super difficult! We like to replace the water and clean out their pale at least once a day.