Key Points of Feeding and Management During the Molting Period in Hwamei Breeding

Feeding and management of the hwamei during the molting period: Like birds in nature, the hwamei molts once a year (those that molt poorly may molt twice), mostly during the 8th to 10th lunar month of the year (a few molt earlier or later), and the whole process ends after about 100 days. Hwamei molting generally follows a certain pattern: usually the head, wings and tail molt first, then the whole body; some molt the tail feathers and wing feathers first, then the back feathers and belly feathers. In some cases, unscientific daily feed ratios, poor protein and vitamin content, and improper management can cause the sequence to reverse or the molt to stop, or result in scorched feathers or mottled feathers. During the molting period, the bird requires especially careful attention, because molting consumes a large amount of nutrients to grow new feathers; the bird's body is mostly in poor condition, and at the same time the pores all over its body are loose and open, making it easy for wind-cold or pathogens to invade and cause various diseases. During the molting period, the hwamei must first be given scientifically formulated feed to increase the bird's nutrition, especially the protein content. Egg and soybean powder can be appropriately increased, and the nutritional content of the feed raised.

Oily feeds can be reduced somewhat; the proportion of peanuts, walnuts, perilla seeds (suzi), meat powder and the like must not be too high, so as not to affect the shedding of the daily feathers. Second, during the molting period the hwamei must be kept in a relaxed environment, and bird fighting must be absolutely avoided. Because during this period the hwamei's body is mostly rather weak, and at the same time the bird is molting, with many fine feathers already growing all over its body and many blood quills, if it fights or is startled at this time, the bird will fly and thrash about endlessly in the cage, greatly affecting the growth quality of the feathers, and in some cases even causing scorched, broken or twisted feathers. Finally, care must be strengthened. During this period the bird-walking activity can be stopped, and the bird's condition should be observed at all times; if anything abnormal appears, it should be dealt with promptly according to the symptoms. At night the hwamei should be brought back indoors to spend the night, with the cage cover lowered, taking care to keep it warm. During the hwamei's molting period, the number of baths can be reduced, with once a week being appropriate. Also, the hwamei should not be hung outside all day, so as not to affect the bird's proper rest and sleep. For the hwamei's molt, from the start of shedding to the end of molting, most can complete it in about 2 months; at this time, if few white feather sheaths are seen shedding at the bottom of the cage, it indicates that the molt is basically finished. At this point the bird can be allowed normal outdoor activity, or be put on the perch stand and hung up to sing.

In addition, wild hwamei living in nature relatively molt earlier, and most have fully molted by late autumn. But cage-kept hwamei molt somewhat later, and most do not finish until around the Beginning of Winter or Minor Snow. Of course, a few molt even later, possibly because excessive nutrition from the feed affects the molt. After the hwamei has completely finished replacing its feathers, if the tail feathers and wing feathers are found to be broken or to have grown unsatisfactory white feathers, the hwamei can be taken out of the cage at night, the unsatisfactory feathers plucked out, and new ones allowed to grow in their place. If the feathers are slow to molt out, the herb red thorn hemp can be simmered in water and given to the bird to drink, to promote rapid shedding. Some keepers believe that the more vigorous the hwamei, the faster it molts, and the more the hwamei loses its condition, the slower it molts, so even when the bird is in the molting period, efforts should be made to keep the bird vigorous.