Chicken feathers porquipine?

[Chicona]

So she is on a nest box broody at 10pm and I try to put her in the flock
She threw herself at me and a ball of feathers flew wrecklessly down the yard in the dark and stopped dead in a puddle

I picked her up and she did it again went Beserk and left a feather pile again I grabbed her to get her sage and threw her in the coop and she farted out and ran scared

So I got my daughter shine a light in the coop and she finaly didn’t want to but went in and we trapped her in with the others

She hasn’t joined the perch she layed underneath and hid

I fee traumatized I’ve never seen so many feathers except at harvest wtf she appears ok but I can’t see until the morning as she won’t let me near and I don’t wanna repeat

Can they release their feathers ? Seriously what the hell happened it looks like a cat attack but it was just me getting close

There allover the yard I am so confused I would understand if I gripped on to her but I didn’t I just got close and she nailed me!!

 

[Patiocoturnix]

So she is on a nest box broody at 10pm and I try to put her in the flock
She threw herself at me and a ball of feathers flew wrecklessly down the yard in the dark and stopped dead in a puddle

I picked her up and she did it again went Beserk and left a feather pile again I grabbed her to get her sage and threw her in the coop and she farted out and ran scared

So I got my daughter shine a light in the coop and she finaly didn’t want to but went in and we trapped her in with the others

She hasn’t joined the perch she layed underneath and hid

I fee traumatized I’ve never seen so many feathers except at harvest wtf she appears ok but I can’t see until the morning as she won’t let me near and I don’t wanna repeat

Can they release their feathers ? Seriously what the hell happened it looks like a cat attack but it was just me getting close

There allover the yard I am so confused I would understand if I gripped on to her but I didn’t I just got close and she nailed me!!

Maybe she had feathers on her from her nest and they just fell off when she freaked out?

 

[-Chanticleer-]

Probably plucked them out and they were still on her. They pluck out feathers on their chest when they become broody.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

So she is on a nest box broody at 10pm and I try to put her in the flock
She threw herself at me and a ball of feathers flew wrecklessly down the yard in the dark and stopped dead in a puddle

I picked her up and she did it again went Beserk and left a feather pile again I grabbed her to get her sage and threw her in the coop and she farted out and ran scared

Aside from possible plucking.. some broody hens will mini molt.. any molting will have a bunch of feathers like described.

She was freaked out because you were a predator in her mind. ETA: good for her for being a wild and protective broody!

All chickens will molt when they reach a certain age.

 

[LaFleche]

This might have been some kind of shock molt.

When suddenly grabbed in the dark they can let go of their feathers to escape the predator.

 

[Chicona]

This might have been some kind of shock molt.

When suddenly grabbed in the dark they can let go of their feathers to escape the predator.

Seems right she looks fine today not a mark how the hell the ammount of feathers I can’t believe she looks the same and fine I haven’t slept