Feathers, feathers, everywhere! With so many birds moulting at once, the whole yard is floating in feathers. They do biodegrade, but a big wind would be nice too, to blow them away. Half the birds were taken to the processors all ready this year, and already there are new ducklings and chicks . I see that in mid winter another trip to the butcher will be necessary.
The turkeys are not looking well at all. One is very pale and has her right eye closed all the time. She is ashen gray actually. The turkey in the photo is better coloured but she has lost more than half of her feathers and the pin feathers are just sprouting. This is NOT an attractive time for the yard or the birds. I need a big vacuum device that fits on the lawn tractor to suck up the feathers.
The good thing is that this big moult only happens once a year with a smaller version in earlier summer for some of the feathers. When the birds have new feathers for winter though, they sure do look smart and they will be warm with the layer of down under the feathers. The coops are slowly being moved to the winter chicken enclosure. For the birds, things have to be done slowly in stages, because they will sit on the ground waiting for the coop to reappear if it is moved too far at one time, even when it is really cold out. Thankfully it is warm again and that gives me more time to finish the winter preparations. In the meantime, the great moult is nearing completion, thank goodness.
The turkeys are not looking well at all. One is very pale and has her right eye closed all the time. She is ashen gray actually. The turkey in the photo is better coloured but she has lost more than half of her feathers and the pin feathers are just sprouting. This is NOT an attractive time for the yard or the birds. I need a big vacuum device that fits on the lawn tractor to suck up the feathers.
The good thing is that this big moult only happens once a year with a smaller version in earlier summer for some of the feathers. When the birds have new feathers for winter though, they sure do look smart and they will be warm with the layer of down under the feathers. The coops are slowly being moved to the winter chicken enclosure. For the birds, things have to be done slowly in stages, because they will sit on the ground waiting for the coop to reappear if it is moved too far at one time, even when it is really cold out. Thankfully it is warm again and that gives me more time to finish the winter preparations. In the meantime, the great moult is nearing completion, thank goodness.
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