Moulting

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Jo H
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Posts: 17
Joined: Fri Nov 25, 2005 4:05 pm
Location: Wye valley

Why do chickens and dogs moult at this time of the year? I would have thought they needed all the fur and feathers to keep them warm in the winter. Spring would seem to me to be a much more sensible time. I did think the dogs moulted when the heating went on but the chickens definately have no central heating.
Jo
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sue-the-recycler
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Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2005 11:20 am
Location: North Staffs

Hi JO
It is a bit late for them to be moulting, it would usually be around late summer but can be later. Possibily a decline in the feed quality? Less greens and bugs about for the high protein snacks. Another possibility might be thats its not a moult. I find my girls occasional indulge in a bit of 'cabin fever' squabbling and a few pecked feathers end up on the hen house floor - they are spending nearly 16 hours between dusk and dawn cooped up at this time of year.
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Loz
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Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2005 3:20 pm
Location: South Lincs
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Hi Jo

Mature chickens will usually moult once a year, usually as a result of physical exhaustion (end of laying cycle, and, as Sue says, reduced nutrition brought on by reduced daylight).

You should find that egg production stops as moulting commences as the bird's system finds it easier to produce new feathers when not having the added burden of producing eggs.

Stress will also send birds into a moult as the blood is withdrawn from the quills - which is why many exhibitors find that their best bird is in full moult after it has been bathed!

Loz
Too much to do and not enough time! See my hoard on www.arthursplacecattery.co.uk
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