Molting = Tired?

[jjthink]

Can molting make a bird tired, sleepy? I have a 6 or 7 year old roo that is dozing off in the late afternoons while standing up outside - he is molting. He went to bed early tonight.

I am adding some good quality cat crunchies to his diet for extra protein - he wants them badly but I don't know how much so have been perhaps too stingy.

 

[SpottedCrow]

Jeeze our poor BJ!
You could put them out free choice for a couple of days...most times they have way too much salt but for a couple of days, it couldn't hurt.
I've even noticed Obelisk wanting to just lay around. She's having a really bad moult this year...She's got half a naked neck and no tail feathers. And grumpy as anything too.

 

[ella]

Molting can really take it out of them. Any other issues like a mild virus or something will come out too, making it a stressful time.

I switch over to chick feed during the molt and just keep a full dish of oyster shell for the girls who are still laying. I've found that the chick starter really helps them out, with higher protien and fat content.

 

[jjthink]

Thank you both

With any luck, it is just the molting (perhaps combined with age - I don't know just how old 6 or 7 is for chickens).
Increasing protein further.
My next trick is going to be trying to get them through the high heat and over the moon dew points the new few days..........

 

[schlitch]

Do roos molt as often and just like the hens?

 

[ella]

Yup, they need to replace the feathers once a year or they'd get all worn out and don't insulate well.

Some individuals molt quickly and have a period of time where they are nearly bald, others molt so slowly you wouldn't notice unless you fluff up the feathers and see the new ones growing in. Fast or slow is an individual thing and has nothing to do with gender.

I love how soft and shiny they are when they're done molting.

 

[schlitch]

I asked because I have a friend that has 5 RIR hens that appear to be in full molt, but their 1 RIR rooster does not. I also think that some of the hen's lack of feathers may have been due to the rooster and he has now been separated from them.

Thanks for the response!