Feathers on coop floor

[Chickiechickieboomboom]

For a couple of weeks, I've been finding feathers in the pine shavings in the coop. Some days just 1 or 2, but today there were at least a dozen. My four chicks are 9 weeks old.

I'm wondering if it's from when they roost next to their Cozy Coop radiant heater. It's basically a flat wall mounted heater that warms up like a heating pad but doesn't heat the coop, just the area in front of it. My chicks roost next to it (2 of them at a time can be in direct contact with it), and most of the feathers seem to be on that side of the coop. Could it be burning feathers off of them? Is some feather loss normal in growing chicks? The feathers are usually small, except this morning many were quite large. The temperature was also below zero last night, the first unbearably cold night for them.

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[JoCoKS]

For a couple of weeks, I've been finding feathers in the pine shavings in the coop. Some days just 1 or 2, but today there were at least a dozen. My four chicks are 9 weeks old.

I'm wondering if it's from when they roost next to their Cozy Coop radiant heater. It's basically a flat wall mounted heater that warms up like a heating pad but doesn't heat the coop, just the area in front of it. My chicks roost next to it (2 of them at a time can be in direct contact with it), and most of the feathers seem to be on that side of the coop. Could it be burning feathers off of them? Is some feather loss normal in growing chicks? The feathers are usually small, except this morning many were quite large. The temperature was also below zero last night, the first unbearably cold night for them.

Thanks for any feedback!

I had 3 Rhode Island Reds that would be next to that heater for years and they never lost any feathers. Are they molting?

 

[sourland]

Sounds like a juvenile molt.

 

[Chickiechickieboomboom]

Thank you both for your responses! Can I ask, is juvenile molting normal? I wasn't aware this was a thing!

 

[mymilliefleur]

Chicks go through several ''mini molts'' as they outgrow their baby feathers. Its perfectly normal.

 

[parrotlady66]

yes perfectly normal for molting .. i would not worry too much over that, like a human or any animal we loose hair as we grow and season change so will chickens and any bird really i have Parrots that go through molting as well

 

[Acre4Me]

It is possible, in addition to molt, that pecking order is getting established. Pecking order issues often arise around roost position and space. And there is a lovely heater to want to be in front of! So, those girls are just figuring out all that too. When they go through a full molt then you’ll see a whole lotta feathers!

 

[chrissynemetz]

I agree, I think it's mostly from a juvenile molt. It's normal.