Further to the question of whether chickens need extra protein, or not, around time of moult, I have been reading something that casts a different light on it.
It happens that quite a few plants' pollen macronutrient composition shifts over the course of the season, from protein-rich in the spring to lipid- and carb-rich in the late summer. "...a temporally dynamic floral macronutrient landscape that shifted from being protein-rich in the early season to lipid- and carbohydrate-rich by late summer (figure 1b). For generalist foragers like bumble bees, this creates a dynamic mosaic of resources, with important implications for their health [28,68,71], as the seasonal loss of high-protein plants could disrupt colony establishment even when other floral resources appear abundant."
The study was focused on bumble bees, but has relevance to any species eating flowers/pollen, and, presumably, indirectly, any species eating species that eat flowers/pollen, and chickens qualify on both counts.
We have been focusing on the moult as a causal factor, when it may just be a temporal coincidence. Perhaps it is simply protein that Janeka needs right now, not so much because she's moulting, but because her usual plant-based sources are seasonally deficient. (The paper doesn't address wintertime provision, when bees are relatively inactive and flowers are in short supply. I will be keeping a close eye on Janeka's appetite for mealworms going forward
).
Btw, the paper also "provides field-based support for a core prediction of nutritional geometry". That theory is being tested in the field now, and is standing up well.
Bain et.al. Nutrient niche dynamics among wild pollinators
Proc. R. Soc. B 292: 20250643.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.0643
It happens that quite a few plants' pollen macronutrient composition shifts over the course of the season, from protein-rich in the spring to lipid- and carb-rich in the late summer. "...a temporally dynamic floral macronutrient landscape that shifted from being protein-rich in the early season to lipid- and carbohydrate-rich by late summer (figure 1b). For generalist foragers like bumble bees, this creates a dynamic mosaic of resources, with important implications for their health [28,68,71], as the seasonal loss of high-protein plants could disrupt colony establishment even when other floral resources appear abundant."
The study was focused on bumble bees, but has relevance to any species eating flowers/pollen, and, presumably, indirectly, any species eating species that eat flowers/pollen, and chickens qualify on both counts.
We have been focusing on the moult as a causal factor, when it may just be a temporal coincidence. Perhaps it is simply protein that Janeka needs right now, not so much because she's moulting, but because her usual plant-based sources are seasonally deficient. (The paper doesn't address wintertime provision, when bees are relatively inactive and flowers are in short supply. I will be keeping a close eye on Janeka's appetite for mealworms going forward
).Btw, the paper also "provides field-based support for a core prediction of nutritional geometry". That theory is being tested in the field now, and is standing up well.
Bain et.al. Nutrient niche dynamics among wild pollinators
Proc. R. Soc. B 292: 20250643.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.0643
Great names and there are plenty to choose from.
. I gave up trying to not have favourites years ago. It’s double the grief when they pass, but double the joy when they’re thriving
Unfortunately I speak cat even worse than I speak chicken.
