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Feather - Anatomy & Physiology (view source)
Revision as of 10:46, 16 July 2008
, 10:46, 16 July 2008→Moult
Ultimate control of the moult involves many factors, the most influencial being '''nutrition'''.
Ultimate control of the moult involves many factors, the most influencial being '''nutrition'''.
Feathers can constitute in excess of 10% of the body mass of a bird and renewing this amount of tissue in a relatively short period of time places a high metabolic and nutritional demand on a bird.
*'''Protein''':
Protein, mainly in the form of ''keratin'' makes up approximately 90% of the dry matter content of feathers. Structurally, keratins contain a higher level of the sulphur-containing amino acids '''methionine''' and '''cysteine''' than normal body or egg protein.
There is no indication that (mal)nutrition has any proximal control over the onset of the moult as moult will proceed irrespective of the nutrtional status of the bird.