normal feather loss in 7 week old chicks???

[schmunko]

I tried searching for this topic before posting but can only find feather loss related to molting....

Is it normal to have several (10) feathers in my coop daily? I have 10 hens and 1 rooster. They are 7 weeks old tomorrow. I don't know if they're missing something from their diet , if it's normal loss or if I have some pickers? I did not have this problem as they were growing and developing feathers. Thought I was over the hump on that one!
They eat the starter food and are outside for a few hours each day free ranging. I give them extra grit when they go outside. We do some treats occasionally.

Their coop is 10 x 8, natural light and ventilated well, so they have plenty of room and fresh air.

 

[emys]

Perfectly normal. At seven weeks chicks undergo their first partial molt.

The chick goes through one complete and three partial moults during its growth to point of lay. Generally, complete moulting occurs from 1-6 weeks of ag, and partial moulting at 7-9 weeks, 12-16 weeks and 20-22 weeks. During this final moult, the stiff tail feathers grow.

From: http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/27_2709.htm​

 

[schmunko]

Thank you so much for the response! I really appreciate all the help I get on this wonderful blog!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agreee. Perfectly normal. They'll do it again in a month or so. They grow so fast they need to replace their feathers a few times. The Kansas State site gives good information on it, but you might enjoy the other site too.

Mississippi State describes molting
http://msucares.com/poultry/management/poultry_feathers.html

Kansas State feather loss
http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/lvstk2/mf2308.pdf

 

[lroth217]

This is what I love about BYC. It is end of August, my 6 week old chicks have more than 1 square foot a piece in their larger brooder (coop not quite done enough for my comfort in putting them in yet), and I have found a few different colored feathers lately. I figure they are from about 4 of the nine of them so I did a search here and . . . Viola!! A post with an answer from April.

You guys have reassured me that all is on schedule.

Thanks guys.