What is moulting?
by Vanessa Pike-Russell Arthropods (e.g., insects and crustaceans) must molt their exoskeletons periodically in order to grow; in this process the inner layers of the old cuticle are digested by a molting fluid secreted by the epidermal cells, the animal emerges from the old covering, and the new cuticle hardens. Encyclopedia.com The growth cycle of a land hermit crab is based on a process known as molting (or moulting), often triggered by the amount a hermit crab eats and drinks. Hermit crabs have rigid exoskeleton which cover the eyes, claws (chelipeds), legs (peripods) and parts of the shield and posterior carapace. These areas do not grow as the crab grows, and need to be shed. A hermit crab will shed their exoskeleton when it becomes too snug about their growing body. Hermit crabs cannot go shopping for new skin, they instead shed their exoskeleton and build up the tender tissues with fluids and with the help of chitin, they develop a hardened exoskeleton. To be able to do this, y
Moulting is when an animal sheds its old skin and then grows a new skin. You might have experienced the wonder and surprise at seeing a snake shed his skin. The shed skin looks like a duplicate of the snake, but it is only the cast off skin that didn’t grow with the snake. When a hermit crab grows its exoskeleton (skin) doesn’t. Imagine a pair of tight-fitting shoes. When your feet grow, your shoes do not. You need to go and get some new shoes which will fit.
When I first got my chickens, which was in December a few years back, the chickens had already passed this stage for that year. I’m guessing they did since I’m not really sure of their age. Come about June, one in particular starting looking a little sick and became lethargic. As the feathers started dropping and little “pin feathers” came into place, I quickly had a self-taught lesson in molting. Ugly, the part Americana hen, was the victim at the time and that was how she got her name. She was not a very pretty sight. She lost all her feathers off the rear end and tail feathers. At that time I thought it was because she was one of those rumpless chickens. Turns out she was just moulting. Well that was three years ago and she still gets to be the victim every year. She is looking pretty dismal right now. She’s feeling so bad she didn’t want me to take her picture… Now Pepper on the other hand, is in the middle of the moulting process but it has not affected her disposition as it does
Molting is the process of shedding old feathers and bringing on new ones. During this time the hen will normally slow down in production of eggs or stop laying totally. The timing is determined by the breed and age of the chicken. When I first got my chickens, which was in December a few years back, the chickens had already passed this stage for that year. I’m guessing they did since I’m not really sure of their age. Come about June, one in particular starting looking a little sick and became lethargic. As the feathers started dropping and little “pin feathers” came into place, I quickly had a self-taught lesson in molting. Ugly, the part Americana hen, was the victim at the time and that was how she got her name. She was not a very pretty sight. She lost all her feathers off the rear end and tail feathers. At that time I thought it was because she was one of those rumpless chickens. Turns out she was just moulting.
