Do chickens shed?

[GaDawg]

Do chickens shed their feathers? My chicks are 12 wks old and there seems to be a lot of feathers in their pen. One day they were eating spaghetti and 2 of them ate a feather with it....lol
Is this normal?

 

[coffeelady3]

They don't shed, but they do mold. (Which is kinda the same thing as shedding, but with feathers!)

 

[Guitartists]

I believe they routinely loose feathers here and there. Or you could have a feather plucker

 

[shmooborp]

they molt.. and loose feathers here and there... when they molt its like they get rid og alot of feathers and grow more new ones back

 

[silkiechicken]

They molt, but understandable how someone in western WA thinks they mold. Everything molds around here

Just giving you a hard time!

 

[Guitartists]

 

[Justino]

 

[GaDawg]

Thanks everyone, I'm going to go read up on molting.

 

[joebryant]

Not that I know dip about this subject, but it seems to me that twelve-week-old chickens would be too young to molt. (?)

Is it possible that the young, inexperienced roosters are jumping on your young hens and pulling their feathers out? (?)

 

[GaDawg]

I thought that also, it's not a lot of feathers just a few from all of them and i see some in the yard here and there. I was more concerned that 2 of them swallowed a feather each....lol