What is normal feather loss?

ChksontheRun

Songster
9 Years
Mar 18, 2010
247
2
109
Central Virginia
I have 15 ten week old chickens-- 13 pullets and 2 cockerels. In the last few day, I have been seeing increasing numbers of feathers in the pen. I dont mean one or two, we are talking hundreds. I see no signs of bald areas on the chickens, and sit next to the pen for 10-30 min a day and have not seen any picking. As I am new to chickens, I just want to make sure this is normal. They are all healthy, eating well, drinking well, and no sign of any abnormal poos, all solid brownish with occasional white. They are being fed grower pellets from S.S. and scratch with treats of watermelon, yogurt, lettuce or grass clippings. Also, no sign of mites that I can see.
 
Yes, certainly sounds like moulting. They can look a scraggy mess with little quills and bald patches everywhere, but the feathers will soon re-grow.

Sandie
 
Yes, perfectly normal. My latest chicks were hatched April 1, making htem about the same age as the OP's. And you would think there has been a pillow fight in the brooder coop! I figured out that they get a few sets of feathers before they finally get the adult coat. One year I clipped the wings of my chicks around 8 weeks old to prevent them from flying over a flimsy fence I had to give them their own space. By 4 months of age they were going over the fence again. When I checked the clipped wings they were all replaced with new feathers. Pillow fight!!!
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