What is molting?
Molting occurs once a year in mature birds, normally in late summer or autumn. The birds will lose their feathers and regrow new ones--a way of refreshing their plumage for the winter so they will stay warm.
Birds can go through either a hard molt or a soft molt. A hard molt means all the feathers are lost almost at once so molting is over relatively quickly. A soft molt means the feathers are lost and regrown gradually. Sometimes you may hardly notice a soft molt, except as a reduction in laying. Molting takes a few weeks or more, depending on the "hardness" of the molt--it can seem like a hardship when you don't have delicious fresh eggs!
Commercial entities tend to breed for a hard molt, because birds lay fewer (or no) eggs while they are molting, since feather growth uses up so many of your hen's resources. Worse, factory farms will often starve a bird for several days to induce a molt all at once so it's easier to manage. You can imagine how My Pet Chicken feels about this abuse!
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