Moulting.....

do members give their birds anything extra when they are moulting, ive read other posts which say the birds can get stressed when in the moult, what, if anything do our members give to help them through the moult to keep them healthy.

For me just a good 16% protein mix. Did an inventory today. They are falling to bits, old and young. Keeping them in now. Last few days also. Interesting! The 9 bred early are 4 flights behind the regular bred ones. They were only on the dark 3 weeks. I do not think the length of time in the dark is set in stone. Will experiment next year.

David wrote:

do members give their birds anything extra when they are moulting, ive read other posts which say the birds can get stressed when in the moult, what, if anything do our members give to help them through the moult to keep them healthy.

Stress What stress I say etc David . One couldn't estimate the money wasted on birds by some flyers when their birds are going through the moult as such on magic potions/mixes. Baths & a few extra peas for protien etc & all should be OK I say if the health/management side is 100%.
*****

It is a fact that ALL animals need Protein for what is known in the medical world as 'Make and Repair' - that is when the body has to either repair something, as when you break a bone or cut yourself, badly or otherwise, or when you are ill.

In the case of our pigeons, they have to 'Build' new feathers, body feathers and flight feathers. That takes a lot of energy and the best way to give our birds that energy is to give them extra protein.

I give our birds high protein chicken growers pellets with a 16% to 18% protein content. NOT the kind you give to Laying hens, but the type made specially for chickens for the table (chickens for eating).

They also need extra 'Keratin'. The centre quills of feathers are made of mainly of Keratin. It is the same thing that your finger and toe nails are made from.

It has been proven that giving extra seed rich in oils, will help to redress the balance. I give our birds a mixture of 50% Linseed and 50% Black Rape seed. I give a good pinch or two of this mix in every feed at the moment.

I have to say, one thing everybody says about our birds is that their feathers are lovely and silky. That is down to this type of seed mix.

It looks like a pillow factory in most of our lofts at the moment, feathers everywhere.

I trust this information will help.

All the best with the moult - Remember - your birds are making the feathers they will have to race and breed from, next season. So give them time and handle them as LITTLE as possible.

Phil

we bought in a bag of blue peas for the moult just add extra peas to a mix and give small seeds and a few pellets in the form of g10s in the morning ....in the water we use oregano nothing else at this time of year apart from plenty grit and minerals of various types

Cinnamon, ACV, home made Probiotics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gluEBGR23Q

feathers all over here, a pain in the back side..........