I came home today to find 2 piles of feathers from my Cochin rooster and about 20 yards away, a pile of feathers from my Dominique rooster. Both boys lost from their tails. Not the big, flumey feathers, but little, soft, fuzzy ones. Most were single and loose, but there were sever clumps of feathers that looked like they had been pulled out together.
This is my first summer with chickens and I don't know much about molting, but it seems that the odds of them starting at the exact same time and only losing from their tails seem pretty slim. None of my 7 hens lost a single feather.
If this were an attack by a dog/fox/something wouldn't there be more carnage? There are no animal pieces or dead chickens. I didn't see any blood, cuts, or scratches. The Cochin does seem a bit more docile than usual. Kind of glum. But not in any pain.
If my boys were just fighting against each other then that would be the first and only time that they ever even paid any attention to each other. They are usually both just happy with their own harem and ignore the other. And if they were fighting, wouldn't the piles of feathers be closer together?
I'm really confused.
This is my first summer with chickens and I don't know much about molting, but it seems that the odds of them starting at the exact same time and only losing from their tails seem pretty slim. None of my 7 hens lost a single feather.
If this were an attack by a dog/fox/something wouldn't there be more carnage? There are no animal pieces or dead chickens. I didn't see any blood, cuts, or scratches. The Cochin does seem a bit more docile than usual. Kind of glum. But not in any pain.
If my boys were just fighting against each other then that would be the first and only time that they ever even paid any attention to each other. They are usually both just happy with their own harem and ignore the other. And if they were fighting, wouldn't the piles of feathers be closer together?
I'm really confused.
