I went by the coop today and noticed a fair amount if white feathers on the ground. I have 2 Columbia Rocks in my flock so I checked them out and found the culprit. I took these pictures in the evening looking for mites but I don't any and the skin looks clear so I don't think she is being pecked. The feathers come off her back easily if I pinch one. Is this molting? This second picture is of how her back appears if I don't move the feathers. All the whitER ones on the back would come out very easily if I were to put any slight pull on them.
Yes that is molting and the new feathers with the soft spines are called pen feathers or more precisely "blood" feathers. Don't be monkeying around with your chickens while they molt. It is possible to break a large blood feather and have a chicken die from loss of blood. I think that chickens are sore during the molt and that handling one at this time makes your chickens wild and human shy. Look closely and you can see the blood in the feather shaft. While its growing each and every feather is plumbed directly into your chicken's blood stream.
