Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

When would chickens begin moulting? On one site, I saw at 18 months old.
Another site says in the Fall.
Just don't want to misdiagnose lice / mites vs moulting, etc.
Thanks.

Depends on the chicken I'm finding! My banties molted earlier than my barred rocks. Of my barred rocks 3 are in varying stages of regrowing feathers and my 2 18 months olds haven't even started yet. If your concerned about mites/lice inspect just below their vent. That's where I always see them and first clue is a red sore or scab in that area.

As a general rule their first (non-juvenile) moult is at 18 months, but it could be sooner or later. The short answer is, "It depends."
It depends in part on the breed, as well as on the individual hen. What time of year they were hatched may also be a factor. I've also read that hens that are good layers may start their moult later in the season, feather back in and resume laying faster than hens that are fair layers who start earlier, and take longer to feather back in. That may be purely anecdotal, but it seems to hold true with my hens anyway ...

I have a flock of 5 at the moment, and I have a couple that start their annual moult in August; both moult in stages, and one takes her time coming back into feather. The one who takes her time still hasn't gone back to laying; the one who gets on with it has been laying again since October.
I have another who starts when the other two are in the re-feathering stage, and she has a hard moult and takes an average amount of time re-feathering. She's one of my good layers.
My BSL just started her moult a few days ago, and she has the hardest moult of all - drops most of her feathers all at once. Thankfully, she started earlier this year than in past years: late December / early January two years ago and late January / early February last winter. The previous winter she was naked during a particularly cold snap, so I had her inside for a week. She also feathers back quite quickly, fortunately. She's been my best layer, but she's old now, so I don't expect great production after she's done with this moult.
My Silkie hen doesn't really do the annual moult; she moults every time she's finished with being broody. She's also a very good layer when she's not broody. She's my oldest hen, but because she takes frequent breaks (and she's broody at least twice a year), she's still going strong in the laying department.

I always check for mites and lice if any of my hens start losing feathers, just to rule out parasites.

Hope this -sort of - answers your question.

Here's me first molter this fall giving me her good side lol

Jaye I think you're right about the good layers starting later and getting back to it faster. I hadn't really thought about it but I believe now that aligns with what I've experienced too.

Wow, Happy, that is one bald butt!

Regular delousing Spring / fall /winter & delouser before infestation is what I do then never worry bout if it's lice or molt . I also mix delouser in sand bath . Luck

Happy wrote:QR_BBPOST Here's me first molter this fall giving me her good side lol

FullSizeRender-1615x2662.jpg

Our rooster's butt is bright pink. I don't think it looks too good.
If I can manage getting a picture, I will post it.
I have sprinkled DE on the coop floors, in the nesting boxes, and on the roosts. We also sprinkled it on the rooster once.

A pic would help. Honestly I haven't found DE to be enough when there's an outbreak. I do use it in bedding and dust bath area along with wood ash but if I actually see mites I pull out the big guns and use Sevin dust on the birds and in the bedding. Everyone has a different opinion on that I guess and I tried hard to stay more natural with DE but after frustration I found the sevin powder worked and worked fast. Just need to follow up to ensure you are getting the eggs that continue to hatch.

I agree with happy but I don't think you can buy the sevin dust anymore, can you?