Molting - Annual Life Cycle

Putting on a New Feather Coat

Ducks depend on their feathers and old, worn feathers must be replaced. Molting is the process of replacing worn feathers. Ducks molt in the late summer and in the early spring.

During the fall ducks molt synchronously, or lose and replace all of their feathers in a short period of time. Synchronous molting renders ducks flightless during a portion of this time thus at a greater risk to predators until the new feathers come in. Losing and replacing all of one's feathers can take up to two weeks. The new feathers are drab in color and considered a duck's basic plumage. In the early spring just as the breeding season gets underway a partial loss of feathers happens when the male ducks put on their alternate plumage.

Feathers are largely made up of proteins and accounts for almost one-third of all protein in the body. The need for large quantities of high protein food may be one reason that male ducks and unsuccessful nesting hens leave the breeding grounds for special molting grounds far away, thereby reducing competition for limited protein resources