Feathers all around

[n3kms]

I have 10 Barred Rock pullets that are almost 20 weeks old and 14 chicks that are a combination of CCL, BLRW and SBELs that are 15 weeks old. Five of those are cockrels and the rest pullets. I notice that there are feathers here and there all the time but none of them ever appears to be noticably missing any.In fact the BRs are quite fluffy. I have not as yet gotten anybody laying eggs. The older ones do chase the younger about on occassion and could be pulling out a few feathers. Is it normal for them to lose feathers at random just like we lose hair and it just seems like a lot because there are 24 of them? About half of the Barred Rocks have really red combs and wattles. The others have smaller and paler combs. None of the other 14chicks looks mature at all except for the males. They also chase each other a bit but no real aggression, at least not yet. There is plenty of room for them to stay out of each others way for the most part. They are fed fermented organic grower feed and treats of fruits and veggies on occassion like tomatoes, watermelon rinds, strawberry caps and cantaloupe rinds.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Chicks go through a number of partial molts as they grow, nice article on molting in general... http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/217/moulting-a-natural-process
"The pullet: The chick goes through one complete and three partial moults during its growth to point of lay, after which the mature bird normally undergoes one complete moult a year, usually in autumn although this depends on the time of the year at which the bird commenced laying. Generally complete moulting occurs from 1-6 weeks and partial moulting at 7-9 weeks, 12-16 weeks and 20-22 weeks, and during this latter moult the stiff tail feathers are grown."

 

[n3kms]

Thanks for that info. I have done a lot of reading but had not come across anything on partial molts and was puzzled by all the feathers. I was sure hoping they were not all deciding to have a full fall molt right when I was hoping to start getting eggs since I read they didn't lay eggs for weeks when they molt. I sure wish someone would lay an egg soon.