CHAPTER XXXI 
THE MOULTING SEASON 
ATE July is the season of the year when Nature in the 
form of a fowl] begins to lag. Following a period of great 
activity in which the pullet, ever seeking to reproduce her 
kind, has laid great numbers of eggs, her vital energies become 
exhausted and she seeks a period of rest and recuperation. 
In the first place she begins to lay fewer eggs, until she ceases to 
lay any more, and concurrently she sheds her feathers until the 
rounded, well-formed figure of the hen becomes but the poor pale 
figure of her former self. From a robust, well-nourished bird she 
becomes a lean, hungry-looking scarecrow. This is the process 
known as moulting, and may last from six weeks to three months. 
At this time her vitality is low, and if the weather turn suddenly 
damp and cold the fowl] is in danger of her very life. 
A good number of fowls are often lost during this period if they 
are not well looked after. It is the custom on some large egg 
farms to “encourage the moult’ by starving the fowl for days 
together. The idea is to get this non-productive period over 
quickly and once more turn the pullet into an egg-laying machine. 
Let those who will take the risk. If, however, anyone cares for 
the future well-being of their fowls, especially for breeding purposes, 
he will not strive to improve upon the methods of Nature, which 
are slow but sure. 
It is true that during the early part of the moult fowls do not 
eat so much, simply because they are not then in a creative con- 
dition. To produce well a fowl must eat well. But that is no 
reason why we should starve the bird. There are writers who 
advocate the absence of all food for days together. By this means 
they hope to accelerate the moult, and probably they will do so, 
but who knows what mischief they are doing to the constitution 
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