HiEverybirdy
Crowing
I've spent more time lately observing the molt with this thread in mind. Sticking with a shaky "no" vote. There was slightly reduced commercial feed intake for 2-5 days in the middle of the molt but nobody has gone significantly off of it.
Notes: our birds are in their 1st through 3rd molts, with no hard molts. Feed is 18-20% protein with 0.4-0.45% methionine year round. They have a low-stress lifestyle, with limited changes to their environment, daily routine, or population, and with a lot of protected space to roam and low predator pressure. No notable bullying or health issues.
That brief period when they aren't as interested in the feeder is about a week after they stop laying and approximately a day before they drop all their tailfeathers overnight. They start eating regularly again even as their down and wingfeathers drop over the following week.
Their crops would be squishy instead of hard for those 2-5 nights, and they have wet poops for about a week. However, during that 2-5 nights, they've stayed just as interested in foraging seeds from weeds and grasses as long as they aren't busy napping or preening.
They also love the yellowed locust leaves falling right now. Not fallen green or crispy brown locust leaves but specifically leaves in that pliable, yellow state. Pretty interesting. But that's for all birds, not just the molting ones.
Oh, and the above is for hens. Roosters are molting in a much slower fashion (e.g., their tail takes about a week to drop off, while hens drop theirs in 1 night), and I didn't catch roosters enjoying feed any less, but they're masters of keeping up appearances.
Lost all but 2 tailfeathers overnight!
Lost his last 2 tailfeathers after about a week of dropping them.
Notes: our birds are in their 1st through 3rd molts, with no hard molts. Feed is 18-20% protein with 0.4-0.45% methionine year round. They have a low-stress lifestyle, with limited changes to their environment, daily routine, or population, and with a lot of protected space to roam and low predator pressure. No notable bullying or health issues.
That brief period when they aren't as interested in the feeder is about a week after they stop laying and approximately a day before they drop all their tailfeathers overnight. They start eating regularly again even as their down and wingfeathers drop over the following week.
Their crops would be squishy instead of hard for those 2-5 nights, and they have wet poops for about a week. However, during that 2-5 nights, they've stayed just as interested in foraging seeds from weeds and grasses as long as they aren't busy napping or preening.
They also love the yellowed locust leaves falling right now. Not fallen green or crispy brown locust leaves but specifically leaves in that pliable, yellow state. Pretty interesting. But that's for all birds, not just the molting ones.
Oh, and the above is for hens. Roosters are molting in a much slower fashion (e.g., their tail takes about a week to drop off, while hens drop theirs in 1 night), and I didn't catch roosters enjoying feed any less, but they're masters of keeping up appearances.
Lost all but 2 tailfeathers overnight!
Lost his last 2 tailfeathers after about a week of dropping them.
