Feathering nest

[hilltopchicks77]

My pullets are 17 weeks and haven't started laying yet. My husband removed the fronts from the nesting boxes this weekend since two of our friends who got chickens at the same time had theirs start laying. I noticed the one box is full of feathers. Is that something they do when getting the best ready?

 

[Ridgerunner]

No, not really. Was it full of feathers when you opened them up or did the feathers show up after they were opened? A mouse or rat might gather feathers to build a nest, but that would only be if the nests were closed. That’s not going to happen if the nests are opened.

Are you seeing other feathers laying around? Juvenile chickens molt twice before they become adults. They simply outgrow their feathers and need to replace them. 17 weeks seems a bit old for that but chickens don’t always read the calendar right. It’s not that old for a juvenile molt.

 

[hilltopchicks77]

It did have a mouse best in it but my husband cleaned it out and put down fresh bedding the next morning 1/4 boxes has a ton of feathered in it. They all the short downy feathers and all different colors like all of the chickens put some in. 1 box has none and the other 2 have just a couple