Salted poop?

[kadani]

Hello,
My chickens are just about finished molting. When I looked in the coop for eggs (no luck), I noticed the poop under the roost looked like it was sprinkled with course-ground salt. See pics. They didn't move, and they weren't soft like worms. Could the chickens have picked at their feathers to end up with feather bits in their poop? Has anyone ever seen anything like this? Should I take a sample to the vet? Thanks for your help.

 

[DobieLover]

It's the shed sheathing from the feathers opening up.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Excellent question. It shows you are being observant.

@DobieLover is absolutely correct. It's shed feather sheathing. Nothing to worry about.

 

[kadani]

It's the shed sheathing from the feathers opening up.

So it's nothing to worry about? What do you mean by "opening up"?

 

[DobieLover]

So it's nothing to worry about? What do you mean by "opening up"?

As the new feathers are coming in, the end of the sheathing furthest from the skin opens up and is preened off by the birds and the barbs of the feather spread.

A lot of the care for feathers occurs during the night when birds are roosted.
Contrary to common belief, birds do not sleep all night. They just nap off and on. When they are molting, there is a lot of feather maintenance going on so the sheathing falls on the poop deposits under the roosted bird.

 

[kadani]

Excellent question. It shows you are being observant.

@DobieLover is absolutely correct. It's shed feather sheathing. Nothing to worry about.

Excellent question. It shows you are being observant.

@DobieLover is absolutely correct. It's shed feather sheathing. Nothing to worry about.

Thanks!

 

[kadani]

As the new feathers are coming in, the end of the sheathing furthest from the skin opens up and is preened off by the birds and the barbs of the feather spread.
View attachment 3317106
A lot of the care for feathers occurs during the night when birds are roosted.
Contrary to common belief, birds do not sleep all night. They just nap off and on. When they are molting, there is a lot of feather maintenance going on so the sheathing falls on the poop deposits under the roosted bird.

Thanks so much! It's exactly what it looked like (not course-ground salt)