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During the summer and autumn, many poultry keepers, especially those who are keeping poultry for the first time become very anxious about their birds when they begin to lose feathers. The floors of chicken houses and runs begin to look as though feathers have dropped from the sky like confetti and start asking what possibly could have happened to cause this?
 Well usually, this condition known as the 'moult' occurs at the same time as the seasonal decline in egg production. It is a perfectly natural process, a physiological phenomenon consisting of the shedding of existing feathers resulting in a rather scruffy bird before the replacement of new feather growth. The moult is nature's way of maintaining the birds' ability to possess good quality feathers that enable it to escape from enemies through flight and provide greater protection and warmth during the cold winter weather. Fowl moult several times during their early growth as old feathers are replaced by new. The first moult is when chicks are about a week old, for their fluffy down is gradually replaced by early plumage, which takes about three weeks. The second moult occurs over a longer period, usually from eight to twelve weeks of age. This is the time when the birds begin to show their true colouring with adult feathers growing in earnest. The third moult is a complete moult, occurring when the laying hen is in its second year of life.
Natural moulting is brought about by:
• Physical exhaustion
• Completion of the laying cycle - birds lay for a certain length of time
• Reduction of light, which in turn means less feeding time, and loss of bodyweight
Motivated by daylight
The life cycle of a chicken, as in other forms of livestock, is very much motivated by the seasons and the length of daylight. In the laying hen natural moulting usually begins when the summer equinox has passed and the days begin to shorten. Sometimes a bird will moult in the middle of summer and other times, especially if the autumn has been very mild, it will be almost Christmas before it drops its feathers. This is not a good time for winter is usually here and chill winds must be felt when there is little to cover open patches of baldness, so protective housing is advisable if this should happen.
Hormones secreted by the thyroid gland are responsible for determining when and how the moult occurs. After a long period of laying eggs, which is the equivalent of a work load, the bird gets physically tired and its body condition deteriorates. A bird has to be in good condition to be able to lay eggs, so with deterioration, egg laying ceases. When this happens, the protein which previously went into helping egg production then becomes available for new feather growth, so the bird moults its old feathers and replaces them. Feathers actually contain proteins themselves - hence the use of feathers as added protein in some animal feeds until recently.
Order of feather loss
When moulting begins it may look as though feathers are dropping out haphazardly but this is not so. There is a definite order of feather loss, the first plumage being lost from the head and neck, followed by the back, breast and body and finally the wings and tail. A good layer will often continue to lay even though feathers are disappearing from her head and neck but by the time her wing feathers are beginning to go laying has usually ceased.
The main wing feathers consist of four tiny feathers on the extreme tip of the wings, then ten large primary (sometimes called flight feathers), the small axial feather and fourteen secondary feathers. When the wing moults, primary feathers fall first, from the centre axial outwards to the end of the wing, then the secondaries are shed but not in such a set order. The axial feather falls with the secondary feather next to it. New quills or pins start to grow as soon as the old feathers have left the body and the process of growing takes about six to seven weeks. The moult is officially complete once the wing feathers have been fully replaced. A bird which has come through a complete moult will look at its best, for the feathers will be glossy, clean and perfect, unlike the tired looking, untidy bird with possibly broken feathers, before the transformation.
Good layers can go bald
It is possible to get a general idea of whether or not a bird is a good layer by when and how she goes into the moult. Poor producers will moult quite early, losing a few feathers at a time and sometimes staying in the moult for up to six months. Hens that are good producers will often moult late in the season, take about three months to do so and begin laying again thereafter. Sometimes a really good egg layer will go into a rapid moult as well as it being late. This can be very dramatic with the bird going almost bald, or at least have large bald patches over part of the body.
Natural moults can occur at any time of the year if the birds are subject to stress. The following are some factors that can induce moulting: • Lighting - decreasing daylight or decreasing artificial light
• Loss of bodyweight
• Disease
• Parasites - internal and external
• Climate - excessive cold and excessive heat
• Feed and feeding -
• deficiencies in the diet, irregular feeding and insufficient feed
• Predators and fright
• Pecking order - bullying
• Prolonged broodiness
• Constant treading by a cockerel
• Mismanagement - overcrowding, movement, water deprivation, vaccination etc
When a bird goes into the moult, do check that it is not through any ailing condition, such as feather mite. Mites can be very easy to miss as they are so small, but other symptoms of this will be scratching and irritability. Should this be the cause of the moult, treat the bird or birds accordingly and do not forget to clean the house and environment as well. If feathers are scattered on the ground, clean these away for some mites can survive on feather debris.
Just like hens, cockerels moult too and usually are the first in the season to do so. As their reproductive physiology is in its resting phase, cockerels are nearly always infertile during the moult. Diet and management are very important, because should a cockerel lose more than 25% of its bodyweight whilst moulting, this can lead to sterility
Whilst birds are in the moult, try to physically handle them as little as possible. Holding a bird that has bare flesh and new feather growth will be more uncomfortable for it than when it is fully feathered. But an important point to remember is that all birds moult. Wild birds do so in the summer when little singing is heard, for they tend to keep themselves to themselves during this vulnerable period. And when they have come through it their songs are brilliant and their plumage bright. Your poultry will also look stunning in their new coat of feathers, for the moult is a simple, natural phenomenon all the birds need to help them through it is just a little care and understanding. |
