June 12, 2025 • 31 mins
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Wondering why your chickens look half-naked and stopped laying? In this Poultry Nerds Q&A episode, we answer the top 20 questions about molting in poultry—what it is, when it happens, how to support birds with proper nutrition, and the best housing tips to reduce stress. Whether you're raising layers, show birds, or backyard chickens, you'll learn how to help your flock thrive during this natural but stressful season. We’ll talk molting rations, protein needs, lighting, housing, and common molt mistakes—so your birds bounce back with healthy new feathers and strong immune systems.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carey (00:02):
Welcome back friends.
And today we have, we're gonnado a little something different.
Today is just gonna be merecording.
I have been asked to write aarticle for a magazine about
molting.
And in my own observations withmy flock, I have noticed that we
(00:26):
are about to start the process.
So I felt like molting wassomething that we really should
discuss and talk about.
So I did a lot of research.
I looked on the web, found lotsof questions that folks had.
Had, and they, some were gettingsome right answers and some were
(00:46):
getting the wrong answers.
So what I thought about doing isjust put together this podcast
and this video for you two.
'cause it will be on both.
And that way we're gonna discussmalting and we're gonna talk
about some of the stuff.
And we're gonna give you theanswers as.
(01:08):
The experience and the knowledgeand the studying and everything
else that I've done over thelast several years researching
this stuff.
We're gonna put that informationout there to try to help y'all
out and see what can happen.
So with that, let's dive intoit.
(01:31):
I have got a list of questions.
The first question is that Isaw, what is molting and why
does it happen?
Molting is a natural processthat mature birds will go
through where they obviouslyshed their old feathers and they
grow new ones.
(01:52):
One of the all, another one ofthe things that is important to
know is during this process,they're also losing weight.
They should lose weight duringthe molt.
You want your birds to get towhat the standard says it is for
that bird, whether it's a RhodeIsland red, whether it is a
McLean, a hatch, a quail,whatever the bird is, even your
(02:18):
turkeys.
Which when you got a bunch ofturkeys and they molt.
It happens really quickly.
I will say it looks likesomething got destroyed in their
pen in the run, but it is anatural process and you want
them to lose that weight and youwant them to shed those feathers
(02:39):
because what that does is ithelps reset the reproductive
system and get them to theiroptimum weight.
Part of the reason they havethat optimum weight is for
fertility and for the birds thathave a lot of feathers and
they're larger birds, it allowsthings to get where it needs to
(03:04):
be better for them to mt and forthem to have higher fertility
rates.
And also when you do the maltproperly.
It allows for better featherquality.
Let's say, you tuned into us afew months back or whatever and
(03:24):
you started feeding your birdsbetter'cause you didn't realize
it was that big of a deal.
The molt is your chance to makethat happen and see the results
when you do, when you followthrough with what you learn here
and what we'll do with the maltwhen you go through that.
(03:45):
You'll get to a point where yousee the the results of your hard
work and your investment inbetter feed types limiting their
amounts and, doing everythingright.
You'll get to see the product ofthat, if you will.
(04:07):
So it's very, it's essential foralso for it to happen June July.
That way when it gets to becold, starts cooling down.
They have their down feathers,they have their bigger feathers,
their primaries, and all thatgood stuff, and they're fully
feathered.
(04:27):
They look beautiful, and it istime for them to be warm.
When you have a molt in June orJuly, it's really hot, so it
helps keep the bird's bodytemperature down as well.
So another question that I see alot is at what age do chip
(04:49):
chickens typically get theirfirst molt?
And again, it's not justchickens it's, we're turkeys,
pretty much any kind of poultryout there.
And it really depends on whenthey hatched out.
It could be a year and a half.
Sometimes if they're verystressed out, juvenile birds
(05:12):
will have a chick molt too, butnot.
Not very common.
When they first catch out, theyget their, the chicks will get
their down feathers, and thenthose will go away after a
couple weeks, and then they'llget their real feathers as I
call'em.
Some people could consider thata molt, but typically you're not
(05:34):
gonna see a molt in thesummertime from a bird unless it
is an older bird.
So let's say it's a August,September, October hatch.
Come June, July you may see amolt.
So how long does a moltingprocess usually last?
(05:57):
Again, that's gonna dependheavily on what you're feeding
the bird and how you as apoultry manager manage your
flock.
Because if you manage your clockproperly and you manage the
molt, which is even more key,you could be three weeks to a
(06:21):
month, even two weeks if you doit right.
If not, and you just do thingsnaturally and your bird's free
range and you put a little feedout for'em to get that extra
that they're missing from thebugs and all that stuff that
they're eating.
You may be looking at a six to12 week process.
(06:42):
It also depends on the bird's,age, health, genetics, some
bolt, some birds will mt faster,some will take it slow.
Again, there's gonna bevariables with everybody's
birds.
Because my Rhode Island reds canmolt in about three weeks, and
(07:03):
literally their new featherswill be pushing their old
feathers out.
Doesn't mean that yours will dothat.
And recently I was out in mychicken yard and I was taking
some pictures because I wasstarting to see some feathers on
the ground.
I was like, Ooh, if I'm gonnagimme some new pictures, updated
(07:24):
pictures, good pictures rightnow is the key'cause these
things are fixing to get naked.
So with mine doing it that fast,yours may take longer.
You may have a differentvariety.
Mine are standard Rhode IslandReds.
You may have some moreproduction Rhode Island Reds and
(07:46):
it'll be different with themtoo.
There's another question that Isee is what are the different
types of molt?
You have a juvenile molt, whichis when the chick's downs are
placed by their feathers, andsometimes you'll have a partial
molt, which may be in thespringtime or due to excessive
(08:07):
stress.
If you've got predator problemsor if you make a huge change in
feed or water or something alongthose lines, cause those birds
to stress out, they may dropsome feathers.
I will say that when it's.
Around Thanksgiving and you'regetting ready to process
(08:30):
turkeys.
A Turkey would go through apartial mo real fast because
when you stretch their neck outand get ready to fastly,
swiftly, whatever you wanna callit start that whole process of
getting your Thanksgiving orChristmas bird, they're gonna
(08:52):
actually molt really quick.
It's very stressful for them,and a lot of times you can pull
most of the feathers out and noteven need to use a pluck.
A hard molt is gonna be a rapidfeather loss and fast regrowth
(09:14):
that typically happens when yourbirds are getting a more
nutritious diet.
The molt is managed by aresponsible chicken tender.
Somebody that knows what the rewhat.
What ways and how to supportthem.
Doing a quick molt and a softmot is a gradual feather loss
(09:38):
that, like you may, your birdsmay lose feathers over a month
or so, and then they may takeanother month or so to gain'em
back like we talked aboutearlier, that six to 12 week.
So you got a juvenile molt,you've got a partial molt, you
got a hard molt and a soft molt.
Another question that I've seenquite a bit is, can you force or
(10:02):
induce a mo a molt and shouldyou, of course you can, force
molting is typically a dietrestriction or lighting changes,
anything like that.
That's done.
A lot of times by commercialsystems, it's also done by your
more experienced poultry keepersor chicken tenders.
(10:24):
It, there's a lot of people thatare starting to learn more about
feed management and that typestuff.
There are some that say it's notrecommended for a backyard flock
because it's stressful.
And there's others that say.
While it may stress the birdsout, if you do it temporarily
(10:47):
and take good care of'em andmanage'em, it actually better
sets them up for next year.
And it also makes for a bettershow season'cause they'll have.
Those, they'll have thosefeathers that are shiny because
you've been looking at your feetand observing the methionine
(11:07):
levels and maybe you've beenputting a supplement in it that
has some cystine and stuff likethat to really make those colors
vibrant and to make the feathershealthy.
I will say that show Pro FarmSupply.
Has come out with a moltingration.
(11:28):
It is.
I have not seen any othercompany with a molt ration, but
I do know that they have one.
With that molt ration, I do knowthat it's properly managed and
created by a poultry dieticianor nutritionist.
(11:51):
He doesn't the guy that did itdoesn't like either one of those
terms.
He's just a guy trying to helppeople out.
When you're trying to manage themolt, ideally you're going to
drop your crude protein down to11 point a half, 12% tops.
You're gonna drop the fat downto two and a half.
(12:16):
To, you need to keep it under 3%because again, you're wanting
the birds to lose that excessweight as well.
But they do need some fat to, tosurvive and live.
So you know, you need to drop itdown to two point half to 2.9%.
Keep it under three for sure.
(12:36):
The fiber this time of the year,normally we want our fiber and
our fat to be proportional, but.
During the mold, we're lookingfor a 8.5 to 9% on our fiber.
We want it to be high with your,he especially that are layers.
(12:56):
You're just gonna lower thecalcium down to about two point
a half percent, somewhere inthat range, because during the
mold, they're not gonna belaying nearly as much if at all.
But we also want.
To keep giving them some extracalcium because it helps build
(13:18):
up the extra to get it to wherewhen they go to Laying again,
they've got more than enough todo it.
All right?
We want our vitamin A levels tobe like 13,000 IUs per pound,
(13:39):
which is very high.
Vitamin A is very key in helpingthem recover and helping them
through the process andreplacing a lot of stuff.
We want the vitamin D to be 3000international units per pound
which is a lot.
Vitamin D, we'll keep that toaround 3000 as well.
(14:04):
The vitamin E.
We're gonna put that 115international units, one 10 to
one 20.
Anything in that range is gonnabe good for your vitamin E,
which is a lot more than what'snormal.
But again, we're wanting to makesure they have the vitamins and
(14:28):
stuff that they need to behealthy.
We're just lowering, we'remainly lowering the protein.
Giving them a lot of otherstuff.
We are gonna lower the lysineamino acid down to 0.45, 0.49,
somewhere in there, which is alot lower.
(14:51):
Normally you'll want 1.2, 1.3 ina mature bird formula, but we're
dropping that really low.
Now the methionine, we're gonnadrop it down to 0.3, 0.35,
somewhere in that neighborhood,which again, is really low.
But methionine is what supportsthe feathers and we want them to
(15:14):
get rid of them.
So we're gonna cut that out.
We're gonna get it low.
So another question we see is,should I change my fox feed
during the molt?
And yes, you should.
We just went over that to that,that's, those two questions to
(15:34):
me went hand in hand, so we wentthrough it.
Another one is, what nutrient ismost critical during bulk
protein or something else?
Number one, protein is never themost important thing.
The vitamins, minerals, andamino acids are.
But the quantity of amino acidslike methionine, lysine, we want
(15:57):
to alter that during the malt.
And another question, how muchprotein should birds get during
the malt?
We've already covered that.
Ums.
Some people will feed a highprotein thinking, okay, they
need it.
Really and truly, you want thelower protein for those two,
(16:21):
three, maybe four weeks, howeverlong it takes.
If your birds are obese, you'regonna want less.
You're gonna want to put'em on astrict diet, essentially, to get
them down to that standardweight.
Alright, so that's why the otheramounts is what's recommended.
(16:42):
So we're gonna do that.
Specific vitamins and mineralsthat help.
Yes.
Zinc, biotin, and vitamin A.
All that stuff.
Will prevent brittle feathers.
It supports feather growth, thevitamin A aids in skin and
follicle health, which hey,we're fixing to be shooting out
(17:06):
some fresh feathers.
So skin and follicle health'sgonna be huge.
That's why that number is reallyhigh in that ration.
Vitamin E also boost immunitybecause you know when the birds
are stressing out,'cause theirdiet just changed and everything
else'cause they're.
We're wanting to do a fast, hardmolt, vitamin E to boost their
(17:29):
immunity is key.
'cause you don't want them toget sick.
Should I give layer feed ifthey're not laying eggs during
the molt?
No, you shouldn't do that.
If you're not going to swap to aspecific molt ration, you still
need to swap to a lower calciumlevel feed when they're not
(17:51):
laying.
Because it, it taxes thekidneys.
If they have the excess and theydon't need it, they're not using
it.
That's why even for the moltlayer ration, we're dropping the
amount of calcium by about afull point for that specific
reason.
(18:12):
Or their feed additives arenatural supplements that help
with molting.
Of course, there is Omega-3oils, kelp meal.
B complex vitamins, garlic,apple cider vinegar, all of
those support immune health andfeather health.
(18:32):
So that now's the time do to dothat.
There, there's a couple of'emout there.
One that I'm particular of isthe show Pro poultry supplement
for obvious reasons.
The other brand that I recommendis for Trail.
For Trail, has a show breedersupplement that like the show
(18:56):
Pro is, I'm gonna saypredominantly organic because
you cannot add lysine toanything and it be considered
organic, but.
I'll say predominantly organic.
They both are, and I will saythat the stuff that is used to
(19:16):
go in it is sustainable and likeeven the fish mill is humanely
harvested.
I've seen the manufacturingfacility where they grow the
fish and process it, it's alldone really humanely.
I'm sure there's others outthere.
(19:37):
Those are just the ones that Ipersonally am the most fond of.
I like, I see a lot of otherquestions about housing and
environment, like what kind ofliving conditions support a
healthy malt.
People.
This time it is more importantthan ever for clean, dry, low
(20:00):
stress environments.
Avoid overcrowding by this timeof the year.
All the birds that you hatchedout, you should have already
made your decision on who you'regonna keep to breed forward and
improve your strain or improveyour line of whatever birds you
have, and you should havealready used some means of
(20:24):
choline.
So avoid overcrowding.
By cuing, a lot of peoplethinks, oh you're killing them
all.
You're killing'em all.
No.
For me, cuing can be giving thatbird to somebody that wants
eggs.
If I have hens that don't meetmy standards I know quite a few
(20:49):
people that need the food.
They like feeding the animals.
So I'll give'em a few hens everyyear, help feed their family.
I'll also give'em some roostersto help feed their families as
well.
So whatever way you do, you'recalling number one.
(21:11):
I always like to encouragepeople to be humane and, but the
all that should have been doneby now, so definitely
overcrowding should not be anissue.
Maintain good airflow.
In my breeding pins, especially,I have a 12 inch fan that is
(21:32):
mounted up in the ceiling, whichis pretty key because that way
it don't get rained on, but it'smounted, just a couple inches
below the ceiling of the pensand it flows.
I have it on the same cycle as.
The lights, that, that allows meto just run one line because my,
(21:56):
I have a large heavy currentcapacity type timer because I do
have lights and I do have fanson it, so I'll have the fans
running when the lights are thatway.
In the areas where I don't havea lot of wind flow, there's
still good air flow now in thewintertime.
(22:20):
I will unplug those fans'causethey don't need extra wind when
they're cold.
So yeah, do that.
You want to protect'em fromunnecessary drafts, which again,
we're managing the mold, we'redoing it June, July.
(22:42):
So I would say that more ifyou're not managing the mold.
Or maybe induce in your molt andit doesn't happen till the
colder months that you wouldwant to do that and avoid the
drafts.
'cause they're, your birds aregonna be naked and you don't
(23:02):
want them to, you don't want'emto get too cold.
Another question, and I don'tunderstand this.
Should I separate molting birdsto reduce or reduce stress?
You should definitely separateif there's some type of
stressor, like if you have onebird that you know because one
(23:28):
of your hen started moltingsooner than everybody else, and
you've got one being a bully,get that bird out.
Put it in a drop pen.
Let it live by itself for alittle while and.
See if it doesn't change itsmind.
But aside from that, just makesure you're not overcrowding and
(23:49):
to reduce the stress.
Make sure you don't have anykind of predators lurking around
at night.
Try to avoid loud noises thataren't normal.
Sudden changes, overcrowding,that kind of stuff.
Try to avoid those becausemolting is a stressful time and
(24:13):
you don't need to add to it.
Can light affect light exposureaffect molting?
Yes.
Decreasing daylight triggers amolt.
So like for me I do, I uselights on my outside brew pens
specifically for normality.
(24:36):
Because you know as well as I dothe exact time, the sun comes
up, varies every day, and theexact time it goes down varies
every day.
So by using lights that are nottoo bright and they're the right
color, you give them normalcy,which reduces stress.
(24:59):
With that.
What I do when I'm starting myMT process, I cut the lights, I
leave the fans, I cut thelights.
So definitely, should you reduceor change lighting during the
mt?
Yes.
So for me, I cut'em off.
(25:21):
You're gonna let, number one,cutting the, cutting that off.
No more means that they don'tget a full 14 hour, 16 hour day.
Let's say you have an overcastday, like what we're
experiencing the day I'mrecording this, and they may
only get eight to 10 hours.
That's okay.
(25:42):
Having a lot of light does slowdown that molting process.
Another question I see is why dosome birds look awful during the
molt and others don't?
Some birds go through a hardmolt and look ragged while
others do it slowly.
So again, if you manage it, thenyou know the nutrition side of
(26:09):
it you're managing, and thatplays a big role in how obvious
or harsh the mold appears.
Genetics.
That all starts with selectionright after hatch.
And so you know, you're, thebirds that you have, whether
they're in a backyard or whetheryou're a show person, those
(26:33):
genetics are those genetics.
And there's certain things youwant to call for and look out
for, and certain things you maynot.
Is it normal for birds to stoplaying completely during molt?
Absolutely.
Most birds will stop layingduring the molt because the
(26:54):
nutrients are redirected tofeather production as normal and
unexpected.
I will say this too, if you havea egg pop out of one of your
hands, deer in the molt, don'tbe shocked because it does
happen.
(27:14):
Should I still be showing ortransporting birds that are
molting?
Absolutely not.
Birds in molt are stressed andvulnerable to illness.
Wait until they've regrown alltheir feathers and looking good
and ready for transport, becauseagain, that's.
The benefit of managing the moltthis time of year.
(27:36):
By the time show season getshere, they've regrown all their
feathers, their nutrition isgood.
'cause you're seeing the resultsof that better quality feed that
you've been feeding'em.
And the birds are, their chancesof getting sick are gonna be
(27:57):
very small just because theirnutrition's on point.
While birds are in the molt,everybody knows that birds are
more subject objectable togetting sick when they're
stressed out, which is why wetalk about so much, about
keeping everything normal,keeping their pens clean, all
(28:21):
that good stuff, keep itregular.
And the last question that I'veseen a lot of is.
Can molting reveal underlyinghealth issues or nutrient
deficiencies?
Absolutely.
Birds with an uneven molt, baldpatches or prolonged molted,
(28:42):
maybe dealing with some type ofparasites, a poor diet or liver
conditions.
So with that, I will say.
We talked about the rough moltand doing a hard molt, but if
your birds do a hard molt andyou're not being a chicken
(29:04):
tender and managing it, then Iwould check to see if there's
some other kind of issue,because you could have a
potential problem if you takeaway one thing from this
episode.
Remember, molting is natural.
How your birds come through themold heavily depends on you.
(29:29):
The poultry keeper, the chickentender, the poultry nerd,
whatever you call yourself, it'sall on you because you're the
one that is responsible fortheir nutrition.
Their care.
A well fed, housed bird willbounce back with feathers that
(29:50):
shine and health that holdstrue.
And with that, tell y'all tohave a good day.
I hope you enjoyed the podcast.
Be sure to give us a like and afollow and we will see you in
the comment sections.
Welcome back friends.
And today we have, we're gonnado a little something different.
Today is just gonna be merecording.
I have been asked to write aarticle for a magazine about
molting.
And in my own observations withmy flock, I have noticed that we
(00:26):
are about to start the process.
So I felt like molting wassomething that we really should
discuss and talk about.
So I did a lot of research.
I looked on the web, found lotsof questions that folks had.
Had, and they, some were gettingsome right answers and some were
(00:46):
getting the wrong answers.
So what I thought about doing isjust put together this podcast
and this video for you two.
'cause it will be on both.
And that way we're gonna discussmalting and we're gonna talk
about some of the stuff.
And we're gonna give you theanswers as.
(01:08):
The experience and the knowledgeand the studying and everything
else that I've done over thelast several years researching
this stuff.
We're gonna put that informationout there to try to help y'all
out and see what can happen.
So with that, let's dive intoit.
(01:31):
I have got a list of questions.
The first question is that Isaw, what is molting and why
does it happen?
Molting is a natural processthat mature birds will go
through where they obviouslyshed their old feathers and they
grow new ones.
(01:52):
One of the all, another one ofthe things that is important to
know is during this process,they're also losing weight.
They should lose weight duringthe molt.
You want your birds to get towhat the standard says it is for
that bird, whether it's a RhodeIsland red, whether it is a
McLean, a hatch, a quail,whatever the bird is, even your
(02:18):
turkeys.
Which when you got a bunch ofturkeys and they molt.
It happens really quickly.
I will say it looks likesomething got destroyed in their
pen in the run, but it is anatural process and you want
them to lose that weight and youwant them to shed those feathers
(02:39):
because what that does is ithelps reset the reproductive
system and get them to theiroptimum weight.
Part of the reason they havethat optimum weight is for
fertility and for the birds thathave a lot of feathers and
they're larger birds, it allowsthings to get where it needs to
(03:04):
be better for them to mt and forthem to have higher fertility
rates.
And also when you do the maltproperly.
It allows for better featherquality.
Let's say, you tuned into us afew months back or whatever and
(03:24):
you started feeding your birdsbetter'cause you didn't realize
it was that big of a deal.
The molt is your chance to makethat happen and see the results
when you do, when you followthrough with what you learn here
and what we'll do with the maltwhen you go through that.
(03:45):
You'll get to a point where yousee the the results of your hard
work and your investment inbetter feed types limiting their
amounts and, doing everythingright.
You'll get to see the product ofthat, if you will.
(04:07):
So it's very, it's essential foralso for it to happen June July.
That way when it gets to becold, starts cooling down.
They have their down feathers,they have their bigger feathers,
their primaries, and all thatgood stuff, and they're fully
feathered.
(04:27):
They look beautiful, and it istime for them to be warm.
When you have a molt in June orJuly, it's really hot, so it
helps keep the bird's bodytemperature down as well.
So another question that I see alot is at what age do chip
(04:49):
chickens typically get theirfirst molt?
And again, it's not justchickens it's, we're turkeys,
pretty much any kind of poultryout there.
And it really depends on whenthey hatched out.
It could be a year and a half.
Sometimes if they're verystressed out, juvenile birds
(05:12):
will have a chick molt too, butnot.
Not very common.
When they first catch out, theyget their, the chicks will get
their down feathers, and thenthose will go away after a
couple weeks, and then they'llget their real feathers as I
call'em.
Some people could consider thata molt, but typically you're not
(05:34):
gonna see a molt in thesummertime from a bird unless it
is an older bird.
So let's say it's a August,September, October hatch.
Come June, July you may see amolt.
So how long does a moltingprocess usually last?
(05:57):
Again, that's gonna dependheavily on what you're feeding
the bird and how you as apoultry manager manage your
flock.
Because if you manage your clockproperly and you manage the
molt, which is even more key,you could be three weeks to a
(06:21):
month, even two weeks if you doit right.
If not, and you just do thingsnaturally and your bird's free
range and you put a little feedout for'em to get that extra
that they're missing from thebugs and all that stuff that
they're eating.
You may be looking at a six to12 week process.
(06:42):
It also depends on the bird's,age, health, genetics, some
bolt, some birds will mt faster,some will take it slow.
Again, there's gonna bevariables with everybody's
birds.
Because my Rhode Island reds canmolt in about three weeks, and
(07:03):
literally their new featherswill be pushing their old
feathers out.
Doesn't mean that yours will dothat.
And recently I was out in mychicken yard and I was taking
some pictures because I wasstarting to see some feathers on
the ground.
I was like, Ooh, if I'm gonnagimme some new pictures, updated
(07:24):
pictures, good pictures rightnow is the key'cause these
things are fixing to get naked.
So with mine doing it that fast,yours may take longer.
You may have a differentvariety.
Mine are standard Rhode IslandReds.
You may have some moreproduction Rhode Island Reds and
(07:46):
it'll be different with themtoo.
There's another question that Isee is what are the different
types of molt?
You have a juvenile molt, whichis when the chick's downs are
placed by their feathers, andsometimes you'll have a partial
molt, which may be in thespringtime or due to excessive
(08:07):
stress.
If you've got predator problemsor if you make a huge change in
feed or water or something alongthose lines, cause those birds
to stress out, they may dropsome feathers.
I will say that when it's.
Around Thanksgiving and you'regetting ready to process
(08:30):
turkeys.
A Turkey would go through apartial mo real fast because
when you stretch their neck outand get ready to fastly,
swiftly, whatever you wanna callit start that whole process of
getting your Thanksgiving orChristmas bird, they're gonna
(08:52):
actually molt really quick.
It's very stressful for them,and a lot of times you can pull
most of the feathers out and noteven need to use a pluck.
A hard molt is gonna be a rapidfeather loss and fast regrowth
(09:14):
that typically happens when yourbirds are getting a more
nutritious diet.
The molt is managed by aresponsible chicken tender.
Somebody that knows what the rewhat.
What ways and how to supportthem.
Doing a quick molt and a softmot is a gradual feather loss
(09:38):
that, like you may, your birdsmay lose feathers over a month
or so, and then they may takeanother month or so to gain'em
back like we talked aboutearlier, that six to 12 week.
So you got a juvenile molt,you've got a partial molt, you
got a hard molt and a soft molt.
Another question that I've seenquite a bit is, can you force or
(10:02):
induce a mo a molt and shouldyou, of course you can, force
molting is typically a dietrestriction or lighting changes,
anything like that.
That's done.
A lot of times by commercialsystems, it's also done by your
more experienced poultry keepersor chicken tenders.
(10:24):
It, there's a lot of people thatare starting to learn more about
feed management and that typestuff.
There are some that say it's notrecommended for a backyard flock
because it's stressful.
And there's others that say.
While it may stress the birdsout, if you do it temporarily
(10:47):
and take good care of'em andmanage'em, it actually better
sets them up for next year.
And it also makes for a bettershow season'cause they'll have.
Those, they'll have thosefeathers that are shiny because
you've been looking at your feetand observing the methionine
(11:07):
levels and maybe you've beenputting a supplement in it that
has some cystine and stuff likethat to really make those colors
vibrant and to make the feathershealthy.
I will say that show Pro FarmSupply.
Has come out with a moltingration.
(11:28):
It is.
I have not seen any othercompany with a molt ration, but
I do know that they have one.
With that molt ration, I do knowthat it's properly managed and
created by a poultry dieticianor nutritionist.
(11:51):
He doesn't the guy that did itdoesn't like either one of those
terms.
He's just a guy trying to helppeople out.
When you're trying to manage themolt, ideally you're going to
drop your crude protein down to11 point a half, 12% tops.
You're gonna drop the fat downto two and a half.
(12:16):
To, you need to keep it under 3%because again, you're wanting
the birds to lose that excessweight as well.
But they do need some fat to, tosurvive and live.
So you know, you need to drop itdown to two point half to 2.9%.
Keep it under three for sure.
(12:36):
The fiber this time of the year,normally we want our fiber and
our fat to be proportional, but.
During the mold, we're lookingfor a 8.5 to 9% on our fiber.
We want it to be high with your,he especially that are layers.
(12:56):
You're just gonna lower thecalcium down to about two point
a half percent, somewhere inthat range, because during the
mold, they're not gonna belaying nearly as much if at all.
But we also want.
To keep giving them some extracalcium because it helps build
(13:18):
up the extra to get it to wherewhen they go to Laying again,
they've got more than enough todo it.
All right?
We want our vitamin A levels tobe like 13,000 IUs per pound,
(13:39):
which is very high.
Vitamin A is very key in helpingthem recover and helping them
through the process andreplacing a lot of stuff.
We want the vitamin D to be 3000international units per pound
which is a lot.
Vitamin D, we'll keep that toaround 3000 as well.
(14:04):
The vitamin E.
We're gonna put that 115international units, one 10 to
one 20.
Anything in that range is gonnabe good for your vitamin E,
which is a lot more than what'snormal.
But again, we're wanting to makesure they have the vitamins and
(14:28):
stuff that they need to behealthy.
We're just lowering, we'remainly lowering the protein.
Giving them a lot of otherstuff.
We are gonna lower the lysineamino acid down to 0.45, 0.49,
somewhere in there, which is alot lower.
(14:51):
Normally you'll want 1.2, 1.3 ina mature bird formula, but we're
dropping that really low.
Now the methionine, we're gonnadrop it down to 0.3, 0.35,
somewhere in that neighborhood,which again, is really low.
But methionine is what supportsthe feathers and we want them to
(15:14):
get rid of them.
So we're gonna cut that out.
We're gonna get it low.
So another question we see is,should I change my fox feed
during the molt?
And yes, you should.
We just went over that to that,that's, those two questions to
(15:34):
me went hand in hand, so we wentthrough it.
Another one is, what nutrient ismost critical during bulk
protein or something else?
Number one, protein is never themost important thing.
The vitamins, minerals, andamino acids are.
But the quantity of amino acidslike methionine, lysine, we want
(15:57):
to alter that during the malt.
And another question, how muchprotein should birds get during
the malt?
We've already covered that.
Ums.
Some people will feed a highprotein thinking, okay, they
need it.
Really and truly, you want thelower protein for those two,
(16:21):
three, maybe four weeks, howeverlong it takes.
If your birds are obese, you'regonna want less.
You're gonna want to put'em on astrict diet, essentially, to get
them down to that standardweight.
Alright, so that's why the otheramounts is what's recommended.
(16:42):
So we're gonna do that.
Specific vitamins and mineralsthat help.
Yes.
Zinc, biotin, and vitamin A.
All that stuff.
Will prevent brittle feathers.
It supports feather growth, thevitamin A aids in skin and
follicle health, which hey,we're fixing to be shooting out
(17:06):
some fresh feathers.
So skin and follicle health'sgonna be huge.
That's why that number is reallyhigh in that ration.
Vitamin E also boost immunitybecause you know when the birds
are stressing out,'cause theirdiet just changed and everything
else'cause they're.
We're wanting to do a fast, hardmolt, vitamin E to boost their
(17:29):
immunity is key.
'cause you don't want them toget sick.
Should I give layer feed ifthey're not laying eggs during
the molt?
No, you shouldn't do that.
If you're not going to swap to aspecific molt ration, you still
need to swap to a lower calciumlevel feed when they're not
(17:51):
laying.
Because it, it taxes thekidneys.
If they have the excess and theydon't need it, they're not using
it.
That's why even for the moltlayer ration, we're dropping the
amount of calcium by about afull point for that specific
reason.
(18:12):
Or their feed additives arenatural supplements that help
with molting.
Of course, there is Omega-3oils, kelp meal.
B complex vitamins, garlic,apple cider vinegar, all of
those support immune health andfeather health.
(18:32):
So that now's the time do to dothat.
There, there's a couple of'emout there.
One that I'm particular of isthe show Pro poultry supplement
for obvious reasons.
The other brand that I recommendis for Trail.
For Trail, has a show breedersupplement that like the show
(18:56):
Pro is, I'm gonna saypredominantly organic because
you cannot add lysine toanything and it be considered
organic, but.
I'll say predominantly organic.
They both are, and I will saythat the stuff that is used to
(19:16):
go in it is sustainable and likeeven the fish mill is humanely
harvested.
I've seen the manufacturingfacility where they grow the
fish and process it, it's alldone really humanely.
I'm sure there's others outthere.
(19:37):
Those are just the ones that Ipersonally am the most fond of.
I like, I see a lot of otherquestions about housing and
environment, like what kind ofliving conditions support a
healthy malt.
People.
This time it is more importantthan ever for clean, dry, low
(20:00):
stress environments.
Avoid overcrowding by this timeof the year.
All the birds that you hatchedout, you should have already
made your decision on who you'regonna keep to breed forward and
improve your strain or improveyour line of whatever birds you
have, and you should havealready used some means of
(20:24):
choline.
So avoid overcrowding.
By cuing, a lot of peoplethinks, oh you're killing them
all.
You're killing'em all.
No.
For me, cuing can be giving thatbird to somebody that wants
eggs.
If I have hens that don't meetmy standards I know quite a few
(20:49):
people that need the food.
They like feeding the animals.
So I'll give'em a few hens everyyear, help feed their family.
I'll also give'em some roostersto help feed their families as
well.
So whatever way you do, you'recalling number one.
(21:11):
I always like to encouragepeople to be humane and, but the
all that should have been doneby now, so definitely
overcrowding should not be anissue.
Maintain good airflow.
In my breeding pins, especially,I have a 12 inch fan that is
(21:32):
mounted up in the ceiling, whichis pretty key because that way
it don't get rained on, but it'smounted, just a couple inches
below the ceiling of the pensand it flows.
I have it on the same cycle as.
The lights, that, that allows meto just run one line because my,
(21:56):
I have a large heavy currentcapacity type timer because I do
have lights and I do have fanson it, so I'll have the fans
running when the lights are thatway.
In the areas where I don't havea lot of wind flow, there's
still good air flow now in thewintertime.
(22:20):
I will unplug those fans'causethey don't need extra wind when
they're cold.
So yeah, do that.
You want to protect'em fromunnecessary drafts, which again,
we're managing the mold, we'redoing it June, July.
(22:42):
So I would say that more ifyou're not managing the mold.
Or maybe induce in your molt andit doesn't happen till the
colder months that you wouldwant to do that and avoid the
drafts.
'cause they're, your birds aregonna be naked and you don't
(23:02):
want them to, you don't want'emto get too cold.
Another question, and I don'tunderstand this.
Should I separate molting birdsto reduce or reduce stress?
You should definitely separateif there's some type of
stressor, like if you have onebird that you know because one
(23:28):
of your hen started moltingsooner than everybody else, and
you've got one being a bully,get that bird out.
Put it in a drop pen.
Let it live by itself for alittle while and.
See if it doesn't change itsmind.
But aside from that, just makesure you're not overcrowding and
(23:49):
to reduce the stress.
Make sure you don't have anykind of predators lurking around
at night.
Try to avoid loud noises thataren't normal.
Sudden changes, overcrowding,that kind of stuff.
Try to avoid those becausemolting is a stressful time and
(24:13):
you don't need to add to it.
Can light affect light exposureaffect molting?
Yes.
Decreasing daylight triggers amolt.
So like for me I do, I uselights on my outside brew pens
specifically for normality.
(24:36):
Because you know as well as I dothe exact time, the sun comes
up, varies every day, and theexact time it goes down varies
every day.
So by using lights that are nottoo bright and they're the right
color, you give them normalcy,which reduces stress.
(24:59):
With that.
What I do when I'm starting myMT process, I cut the lights, I
leave the fans, I cut thelights.
So definitely, should you reduceor change lighting during the
mt?
Yes.
So for me, I cut'em off.
(25:21):
You're gonna let, number one,cutting the, cutting that off.
No more means that they don'tget a full 14 hour, 16 hour day.
Let's say you have an overcastday, like what we're
experiencing the day I'mrecording this, and they may
only get eight to 10 hours.
That's okay.
(25:42):
Having a lot of light does slowdown that molting process.
Another question I see is why dosome birds look awful during the
molt and others don't?
Some birds go through a hardmolt and look ragged while
others do it slowly.
So again, if you manage it, thenyou know the nutrition side of
(26:09):
it you're managing, and thatplays a big role in how obvious
or harsh the mold appears.
Genetics.
That all starts with selectionright after hatch.
And so you know, you're, thebirds that you have, whether
they're in a backyard or whetheryou're a show person, those
(26:33):
genetics are those genetics.
And there's certain things youwant to call for and look out
for, and certain things you maynot.
Is it normal for birds to stoplaying completely during molt?
Absolutely.
Most birds will stop layingduring the molt because the
(26:54):
nutrients are redirected tofeather production as normal and
unexpected.
I will say this too, if you havea egg pop out of one of your
hands, deer in the molt, don'tbe shocked because it does
happen.
(27:14):
Should I still be showing ortransporting birds that are
molting?
Absolutely not.
Birds in molt are stressed andvulnerable to illness.
Wait until they've regrown alltheir feathers and looking good
and ready for transport, becauseagain, that's.
The benefit of managing the moltthis time of year.
(27:36):
By the time show season getshere, they've regrown all their
feathers, their nutrition isgood.
'cause you're seeing the resultsof that better quality feed that
you've been feeding'em.
And the birds are, their chancesof getting sick are gonna be
(27:57):
very small just because theirnutrition's on point.
While birds are in the molt,everybody knows that birds are
more subject objectable togetting sick when they're
stressed out, which is why wetalk about so much, about
keeping everything normal,keeping their pens clean, all
(28:21):
that good stuff, keep itregular.
And the last question that I'veseen a lot of is.
Can molting reveal underlyinghealth issues or nutrient
deficiencies?
Absolutely.
Birds with an uneven molt, baldpatches or prolonged molted,
(28:42):
maybe dealing with some type ofparasites, a poor diet or liver
conditions.
So with that, I will say.
We talked about the rough moltand doing a hard molt, but if
your birds do a hard molt andyou're not being a chicken
(29:04):
tender and managing it, then Iwould check to see if there's
some other kind of issue,because you could have a
potential problem if you takeaway one thing from this
episode.
Remember, molting is natural.
How your birds come through themold heavily depends on you.
(29:29):
The poultry keeper, the chickentender, the poultry nerd,
whatever you call yourself, it'sall on you because you're the
one that is responsible fortheir nutrition.
Their care.
A well fed, housed bird willbounce back with feathers that
(29:50):
shine and health that holdstrue.
And with that, tell y'all tohave a good day.
I hope you enjoyed the podcast.
Be sure to give us a like and afollow and we will see you in
the comment sections.
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