Too many feathers in the coop?

[Rhoise]

My chicks are 15 and 16 weeks old and look fine( I think)don't seem to be picking at each other, but seem to be loosing not quite a "pillow case full" but more feathers than usual..... my 16 week old Golden Sex link has lost all but 2 or 3 of her real long tail feathers, no balding mind you but I am finding the big feathers in addition to the little fluffy ones all around the coop and yard...all different chickens too..... 4 different types of chicks and 4 different types of feathers....I know they go through partial moults at this age but I'm worried this is excessive? Our temps have been brutal 98-107 for over a week now, My hens pant a bit but don't seem too stressed lots of shade and clean water.... Is this normal for this age and stage?

 

[suki'smom]

They are molting, totally normal

 

[PartyOnARoost]

This is exactly what's happening to me! Mine are losing feathers in the coop, some tail some down feathers, and they are also 15 to 16 weeks old now. They've been Panting when it got REALLY hot here but for the last to days they have been VERY social and active and stopped panting just like a normal hen would act... Is the loss of feathers a concern??? Thanks for creating this thread it will help!

 

[Rhoise]

Thanks for responding Mariah! They seem good to me, i'm just fussing over them and new to being a chicken farmer(hee hee).... their combs are redding up and I'm getting ready to put some pine shavings and fake eggs in the nest boxes soon I use zeolite as litter in the coop so i can rake it smooth and see if any body is in there during the day poking around and today there were tracks in the sand! Beautiful Avitar you have is that a sable? again thank you for answering our newbie questions!!

 

[PartyOnARoost]

Did your chickens start laying yet? Mine are the same age as yours, so should I put fake eggs in nesting box? Thanks sorry for th question

 

[Rhoise]

Mine are not laying yet but some folks with production red and sex link varieties are reporting first eggs at 17 weeks so I figured I better get the boxes ready.

I have 16 week old Amber Whites, Golden sex links, and 15 week old production Rhode Island Reds and Plymouth Barred Rocks, the production reds have the biggest and reddest wattles and combs , next the Golden's not far behind, and the Amber's and rocks are still just pink and smallish.......

People say to put fake eggs or golf balls in the nests and offer oyster shells in a dish soon before or shortly after they start to lay to encourage the pullets to lay in the boxes instead of in the run or elsewhere,and also oyster shells to give them extra calcium for nice hard shells.

I am going to continue their starter feed till its gone I just opened a 50# bag I got on sale two weeks ago(this doesn't have the calcium they need for laying so hence extra shells) then I will switch to layer pellets which contain more calcium for the layers, then I wont worry as much about the shells and just sprinkle some in the yard once in a while for a supplement.

Don't be shy about questions, I have a ton and am new to this too.....I read alot and this web site is a wealth of info, almost overwhelming to me sometimes because you can get 100 different ideas and answers to one question, but none the less I am grateful it is here, people like Mariah earlier can put my mind at ease with a simple and kind comment because I'm sure she's been through the 16 week stage before

 

[yo burrill]

They can be known to loose extra feathers in the extreme heat. Not much you can do about it though other than keeping them cool.