chicken ate her feathers???

[sean_wonder]

my chicken stretched and a couple feathers fell out and then she looked down and she ate them both before i could grab em and i’ve never had chickens before but i don’t think it’s safe for them to eat feathers??? what do i do?!!

also a lot of my chickens have been dropping feathers lately. they’re 2 months old shouldn’t they not be loosing any feathers?? i know what a molt is but they’re only two months old and they can’t be molting... please help!

 

[DellaMyDarling]

What feed are your birds on? Percentage of protein in it?

Your birds may be losing baby feathers to "molt" into adult feathers. This requires a lot of protein, which feathers are primarily comprised of.

Someone else will have more answers I'm sure.

 

[azygous]

It's called juvenile molt, and it happens several times as a chick goes through growing stages on the way to adult plumage. Nothing to be concerned about.

It's also normal, as @DellaMyDarling pointed out, that chickens eat the smaller soft feathers since they are both roughage and protein. Only rarely will a chicken get an impacted crop from eating too many feathers. Usually, as a chicken feels their crop becoming congested, they will drink more water than usual and flush the mass on through their system.

 

[sean_wonder]

What feed are your birds on? Percentage of protein in it?

Your birds may be losing baby feathers to "molt" into adult feathers. This requires a lot of protein, which feathers are primarily comprised of.

Someone else will have more answers I'm sure.

There’s such a thing as baby feathers? So as they get bigger they grow bigger feathers and shed their smaller ones? My birds are on starter grower, with at least 2 hours of free range time a day and a combo of scratch and fresh veggies thrown around in their coop

 

[sean_wonder]

It's called juvenile molt, and it happens several times as a chick goes through growing stages on the way to adult plumage. Nothing to be concerned about.

It's also normal, as @DellaMyDarling pointed out, that chickens eat the smaller soft feathers since they are both roughage and protein. Only rarely will a chicken get an impacted crop from eating too many feathers. Usually, as a chicken feels their crop becoming congested, they will drink more water than usual and flush the mass on through their system.

Oh thank goodness!! This makes me feel so relieved. It’s so odd, I wonder why none of the chicken books have ever warned me about it? At least I know now... and don’t worry, despite the feather loss if you didn’t see feathers strewn everywhere you wouldn’t guess the girls are loosing them. Phew! Thanks for quick response!

 

[sean_wonder]

I have also noticed they’ve been chugging water lately, so that’s cool!

 

[coach723]

Yes, chicks will molt several times up to about 5 months of age before they are fully feathered out. It's completely normal. They often eat feathers laying about or blowing by. This is a good, relatively short article on molting. As adults it will happen once a year, so you will have to get used to it! https://www.wideopenpets.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-molting-chickens/