Good, helpful article. Now I know why my yard is covered in a carpet of feathers. I have 38 juvenile chicks (an assortment of 15 breeds of bantams and standard size) that are between 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 month old and are in the middle of their juvenile molt, plus 3 adult standard size chickens, 2 gens and 1 rooster, that are now, at 15 months old, starting their first molt.
One thing I wish was included in the article is information on molting roosters (seems only hens are mention in articles on molting chickens). My Polish rooster have been losing tail and hackle feathers. Do roosters experience hard molts? My 2 Wyandotte hens have been losing feathers near the base of their tail, which I first thought may have been pulled by the rooster Bowie during mating. The still growing juvenile chicks shed feathers every day but the feather loss is pretty much unnoticeable on their bodies.
Also would have appreciated photos of molting chickens, both of female and male chickens, to prepare those of us with what our chickens may look like during a molt. Guess I can just use Goggle to look at photos of molting chickens.
Would like to know how to clean up so many feathers from the yard, to keep them from falling through the fence and onto the sidewalk and driveway. I live in Queens, NY and can be fine $300 to $1000 for any trash dumped on my sidewalk by people that walk by or that park in front of my house, so I have to make sure to keep the sidewalk clear of trash and free of feathers. In the yard, I sweep the feathers with a broom a couple of times a week, in the coop and run/pen's bedding of sand I sift them out of the sand about once a week. I'm thinking of getting a leaf blower with vacuum feature, hoping it can pick up the feathers on top of the yard soil, and other areas of the yard and the driveway.
Anyway, thanks for the helpful article.
One thing I wish was included in the article is information on molting roosters (seems only hens are mention in articles on molting chickens). My Polish rooster have been losing tail and hackle feathers. Do roosters experience hard molts? My 2 Wyandotte hens have been losing feathers near the base of their tail, which I first thought may have been pulled by the rooster Bowie during mating. The still growing juvenile chicks shed feathers every day but the feather loss is pretty much unnoticeable on their bodies.
Also would have appreciated photos of molting chickens, both of female and male chickens, to prepare those of us with what our chickens may look like during a molt. Guess I can just use Goggle to look at photos of molting chickens.
Would like to know how to clean up so many feathers from the yard, to keep them from falling through the fence and onto the sidewalk and driveway. I live in Queens, NY and can be fine $300 to $1000 for any trash dumped on my sidewalk by people that walk by or that park in front of my house, so I have to make sure to keep the sidewalk clear of trash and free of feathers. In the yard, I sweep the feathers with a broom a couple of times a week, in the coop and run/pen's bedding of sand I sift them out of the sand about once a week. I'm thinking of getting a leaf blower with vacuum feature, hoping it can pick up the feathers on top of the yard soil, and other areas of the yard and the driveway.
Anyway, thanks for the helpful article.
