Feathers fall in fall
Fall brings with it pumpkin spice, scarecrows, cooler temperatures and falling leaves.
On the farm, things are winding down, extra bedding is being added to the coops to keep everyone toasty when the bitter winds start to blow and amid the changing leaves, the other thing falling is feathers.
Feathers?
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Yes, you read that right. Feathers.
Chickens have several layers of feathers that keep them cool or toasty depending on what the weather does. Think of a down blanket or coat for yourself. The fluffiness holds the air in between and either keeps things cool or warm. You really didn’t think those feathers in your winter jacket or fluffy feather pillow came from a factory did you?
Through the years, I’ve learned to recognize and embrace the swirling of several thousand sloughed off feathers as a sign of the changing of the season. This shedding of old feathers and growing in of new is called molt, and it can definitely be a bit terrifying to a first-time poultry owner.
The molting bird looks a bit like it has been through the rough end of a car wash with an underbelly carriage wash tossed in for spite.
The first year I experienced molt, in my then tiny flock, I remember feeling heartbroken when I looked out in my back yard one afternoon to see multiple small feathers drifting among the grass and fallen leaves of an old maple tree. I was certain one of my beautiful birds had fallen prey to a random hawk attack and went out to see who had survived.
To my surprise, all four chickens were happily grazing amongst the leaves and feathers, looking for a stray beetle or earthworm that had surfaced to search for food.
Over the course of a few weeks, though, I watched each of these birds slowly lose more feathers and more feathers until they looked like a plucked chicken that was ready for the pot, except that they were still alive and also to my shock seemingly very happy even though they were almost completely bald.
Nowadays, the number of feathers drifting has increased exponentially with almost 40 layer chickens deciding it is time to shed their summer coat and grow in fluffier, warmer garb. It’s kind of like when the dogs or cats shed their coat at the beginning of summer except with chickens, theirs is at the start of the cold season.
I’m not going to lie. These days, I still get nervous when I first notice the large amount of feathers drifting across the field, thinking this is the time that I’ve not been able to avoid a predator attack. So far, though, I’ve been very lucky, and I pray it will stay that way for a very long time.
That doesn’t mean, however, I won’t still think the molting birds look a bit like something out of a horror movie.
Until next time…