feathers on the floor

[mossyroo]

My 9 chicks are about 2 1/2 mo and seem in ggod health and well feathered. I am seeing quite a few feathers on the coop floor and am wondering if this is a normal part of growth like loosing baby teeth?

 

[Kelsie2290]

Chicks do go through several molts as they grow, nice article on molting from the The Poultry Site.
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/217/moulting-a-natural-process
"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."

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Similar. It's a juvenile molt. Birds lose and grow feathers several times growing up and then annually.

 

[mossyroo]

Thanks

 

[Wxguru]

I have 6 hens and we have feathers all over the place right now (14wks old)....even some of their large flight feathers....mostly the smaller sizes though