bare quills: molting or something else?

[woodlumn]

Hello,

Two of my black sex links are molting, or at least I think they are. But the breast feathers on one of them look bare, just the quill/shaft remains. Is this normal molting, or might there be something else going on? She seems fine...eating, scratching with the rest, and not getting picked on. Her feet and eyes look normal to me.

Thank you.

 

[justbugged]

I vote that they are just molting. Try looking up some of the pictures of other molting birds for comparison.

 

[CMV]

Sounds like normal molting. Those quills are the newly emerging feathers. You are seeing the keratin sheaths. They will open up soon and be perfectly normal looking feathers. Just don't damage them while they are in that quill form or they will bleed like crazy. Those are also known as "blood feathers".

Good luck.

 

[woodlumn]

thanks, y'all. I feel better now!