How feathers grow

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Have you ever wondered how feathers actually grow? Any bird keepers of course will know this but for the rest of us the process is quite interesting. First the tip of the feather grows through the skin, wrapped in a sheath of keratin so it is stiff and pointed. These are called pin feathers. Once they are about half to one centimetre long, the barbs of the feather (the feathery bits) break through the sheath so the pin feathers now look like tiny brushes. As they continue to grow the sheath breaks up and falls off, especially as the birds preen their new feathers. I hadn’t seen this happen before and of course it is not so obvious if a bird only loses a few feathers at a time, but with ex-battery hens that arrive without most of their feathers it is easy to see the new ones growing. In another couple of weeks the new girls will have new down coats ready to keep them warm over the winter. All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2016.