SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/chick-molt-what

Your hen loses lots of feathers and stops laying. What is probably happening?

She is molting: losing old feathers and growing new ones.

Start playing free

  1. She has caught a bad cold
  2. She is too hot
  3. She is molting ✔

Why: Each year chickens replace their old feathers. Growing feathers takes so much energy that most hens stop laying until the molt is over.

Huh, didn't know that: Feathers fall out in order: head first, then neck, breast, body, wings and tail.

The dad joke
Why did the hen skip the party during her molt? She had nothing to wear.
Like this card?
Play the game

References

Answer: She is molting. Each year chickens replace their old feathers. Growing feathers takes so much energy that most hens stop laying until the molt is over.

  1. Molting of Laying Hens, Mississippi State University Extension extension.msstate.edu/agriculture/livestock/poultry/molting-laying-hens
    Each year chickens molt, or lose the older feathers, and grow new ones. Most hens stop producing eggs until after the molt is completed.
    Checked 2026-10-11.

Think this answer is wrong? Tap "Challenge this answer" on the card in the game and tell us why.

Test yourself in the game

Backyard ChickensWhen do backyard hens usually lay fewer eggs, or stop for a while?Backyard ChickensIf you buy grown hens for eggs, about how old should they be?Backyard ChickensAt about what age do young hens start laying eggs?

That's stuff everyone should know.