Physiological health remodeling (PHR) refers to coordinated adjustment of photoperiod and energy intake to simultaneously drive feather renewal and remodel degraded reproductive, endocrine and metabolic systems, thereby facilitating a rapid transition into a new laying cycle. During brooding, poultry reduce feed intake, prolactin rises and sex steroid levels decline, causing atrophy of the oviduct and ovaries, and cessation of egg production. Following brooding, after a chick-rearing period, molting is initiated and completed before winter to adapt to seasonal environmental changes. With the advent of spring, physiological function gradually recovers, enabling the onset of a new reproductive cycle. In production, the rapidly initiated egg-laying cycle, combining broodiness and natural molting, is commonly known as forced or induced molting. However, these terms emphasize feather renewal and do not adequately reflect the coordinated physiological changes across multiple organs. Therefore, this process was designated as PHR. This paper outlines the physiological changes in birds during brooding and natural molting, and their implications for PHR in poultry. It discusses the recovery of tissues and organs after remodeling, feed efficiency improvements and potential issues, with the aim of informing prolongation strategies for laying and breeding hens, and offering insights for human health and biomedical research.
JIANG et al. (Thu,) studied this question.