Usual Morning with Some of the Animals

Bird Bras???

So I went out this morning to let the chickens, turkey and ducks out of their coop and I was so worried because the coop was FULL of feathers! I thought something got into the coop during the night and attacked one of our precious birds!! But I guess its that time of year where they all start molting! Oh NO! It starts in their breast area as you can see on Sugar. Luckily she still thinks that she is beautiful! Does anyone know where we can get bras for our naked breasted ladies? Interesting molting facts.....

Birds must spend a great deal of time caring for their feathers, since their lives depend on them. Preening, bathing, dusting, and other feather care operations, however, cannot prevent the feathers from wearing out. Because formed feathers (like our fingernails) are lifeless, horny structures, incapable of being repaired, worn feathers must be replaced. This process of replacement is termed molting. The old, worn feathers are loosened in their follicles (sockets) by the growth of new intruding feathers, which eventually push them out. Molting occurs in regular patterns over a bird's body. The adaptiveness of such patterns can be illustrated by the arboreal woodpeckers, which retain the key inner pair of long tail feathers used in bracing and climbing until the outer feathers have been replaced. This is the reverse of the pattern found in most birds, which molt tail feathers from the center of the tail first, and then progressively toward each side. The majority of adult birds molt once or twice a year, and the temporal pattern, not unexpectedly, is related to the wear rate on the feathers. Feathers of species that migrate enormous distances or live in thick brush, dodging among twigs and spines, wear more rapidly than those of birds resident in one place or live in open country. The former tend to molt twice a year, and the latter only once.