Molting as Growing Up

[Folly's place]

I do love the colors on these birds!
Mary

 

[centrarchid]

Speckled Sussex cockerel at 16 weeks, roughly twice as old as the American Games. He is just now starting to show feather set 2 coming in. Photograph was last Sunday. He is dropping flight feathers fast. He will be loosing flight capacity fast. My American Dominiques may do similar.

 

[centrarchid]

Male at 88 days post hatch. Among primaries only two orginally marked remain. Two more distill feathers came in after marks applied. Replacement of primaries is progressing proximal to distal. Replacement of secondaries going from distill to proximal. Two most distal secondaries came in after marks applied.

 

[centrarchid]

Female at 88 days post-hatch.

 

[centrarchid]

Older full-sibling brother hatched April 21, 2019 (Easter) is still swapping out secondaries. I do not know if those feathers represent second or third feather set. He is not yet bullstag based on tail development or behavior even 180 days post-hatch. I am estimating bullstag status is about 30 to 45 days out yet.

Since birds being studying hatched July 15, 2019 observations will continue through February 10, 2020. That means I need to setup a special pen for these two where birds can be access even with deep snow. Assumption made that late hatch date does not impact progression of feather replacement pattern. Also running risk feather replacement may bump into annual replacement of adult flight feathers starting in late April to May. Late hatch stags usually have less showy feathers during the first breeding season when compared to earlier hatched stags.

 

[centrarchid]

Now at 111 days post-hatch. They have resumed association with mother. They still retain some of the most distal primaries from first feather set that came in last. Those feathers not marked by clips.

 

[centrarchid]

Some odd going on. Late season birds appear to have a different / shortened pattern of feather replacement when compared to sibling hatched earlier in the year. She should have top feathers of tail being the shortest. Her brother has sickle feathers that are no being dropped like those of his early season brothers.