Wednesday 15 January 2014

Molting Process in Chickens

Molting Process in Chickens 

Most hens halt making eggs until after the molt is accomplished. The rate of lay for some hens may not be influenced, but their molting time is longer. Hens referred to as "late molters" will lay for 12 to 14 months before molting, while other ones, referred to as "early molters," may start to molt after only a couple of months in production. Late molters are generally the better laying hens and will have a more ragged and tattered covering of plumage, origin the early molters are generally poorer layers and have a smoother, better-groomed look.

All chickens will molt annually, their first happens round 16-18 months of age. throughout a molt, chickens will misplace their plumage and grow new ones. Molting happens in answer to declined light as summer ends and winter advances. granted that feathers comprise of 85% protein, feather production locations great claims on a chicken's power and nutrient shops, as a result, egg production is likely to fall or stop completely until the molt is completed. On mean, molting takes 7-8 weeks from start to complete but there is a broad variety of normal from 4 to 12 weeks or more.
The alignment in which birds misplace their feathers is equitably decisive. The feathers are lost from the head first, pursued in order by those on the neck, breast, body, wings, and follow. Lossing of primary air travel plumage before secondary air travel plumage on the wings is renowned as the decisive alignment of molting


generally 10 prime feathers on each wing are divided from the lesser lesser feathers by a short axial feather.The prime wing plumage work out if a hen is an early or late molter. the stiff air travel feathers are discerned habitually on the outer part of each wing when the wing is disperse.

Late molting hens will lose prime feathers in assemblies of two or more feathers, while early molters misplace plumage individually.Molting birds misplace the primary plumages in regular alignment, starting with the plumage closest the axial feather and progressing to the outside wing-tip feathers.

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