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Pretty feathers, discarded in the moult. Sarah Bush Photography

A DESPERATE email from a Henkeepers' Association member in Morocco on the subject of ingrowing feathers on the wing joints of a very elderly, but much loved cockerel, sent me scurrying to my library of equally elderly poultry reference books. Further investigation offered nothing on the subject to give consolation to the Moroccan ex-pat (any suggestions?) but got me thinking about plumage, especially as I look out of my window onto a garden full of pretty, discarded feathers.

All birds moult at the end of summer or beginning of autumn, though this year, some were fooled into an early moult at the close of April, thinking - perhaps rightly, that the season was over already. The rest of my flock have shed their feathers one after another, better from the cook's point of view, because of course, a moulting hen doesn't lay. And as the moult usually takes place at the end of the breeding season, could this be why so many of us have had a poor mid season for eggs?

Feathers are 85% protein, so you can imagine all your flock's protein requirement goes into producing new plumage. So up their rations. Victoria Roberts suggests calcified seaweed is good for smart new feathers (Diseases of Free Range Poultry) and Gail Damerow (Chicken Health Handbook) maintains a handful of dry catfood every other day will do the trick - not very appealing to vegetarians, and please don't use chicken flavoured pellets. (Defra ban the feeding of meat to poultry). Juliette de Bairacli Levy recommends the use of aromatic herbs, such as dill, fennel and rosemary for plumage growth, in her Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable. Life Guard tonic, a combination of pro-biotics, anti-oxidants and herbal ingredients is a good all round tonic, as is Poultry Spice. Don't overdo the protein though, during the rest of the year or the excess will be deposited in the bird's joints as crystals and cause gout.

If the moult coincides with a heatwave, then the combination can cause real distress amongst your flock. Make sure your birds have access to shade, fresh air and a constant supply of clean water. Many old ladies bow out during the summer months, rather than when it is colder, as humans do. Your cockerel will cease to mate and some even stop crowing, even crests and wattles seem to shrink. Birds will also shed their leg scales annually. Never clip wing feathers during the moult, because the primaries have arteries in their cavities until the feather is mature.

When finally, your birds immerge fully feathered, the new season's plumage will often look surprisingly smart, especially in free range birds, because the sun (though generally useful for the production of vitamin D) will gradually bleach feathers, and a year's general wear and tear can turn a natty bird into a tatty one, no matter how many dustbaths she takes. Bright, shiny feathers and an interest in preening are always signs of good health.

Many of us will be wondering whether new chicks are pullets or cockerels. A glance at their feathers may be more informative than you think. Month old females get their wing and tail feathers before their male siblings and at ten to twelve weeks, the males will be obvious by their pointy neck feathers - those of the pullets will be rounded, visible if you slide a piece of stiff paper underneath their shoulders. Some breeds, like Welsummers and Marans have feathering differences from point of hatching, but it takes a brave breeder to bet his or her reputation at such an early stage.

A flick through the pages of the British Poultry Standards book will allow you to marvel at the variety in colour, texture and patterns of the plumage of the multitude of breeds available - all descendants of the basic Jungle Fowl. It is the feathers that determine not only the bird's colour and markings, but also their shape. And those are just the feathers you see. Underneath is a layer of fluffy down that acts as insulation. So, pencilled, spangled, birchen, cuckoo, barred, laced, Columbian, quail and partridge or self, all breeds are primarily determined by their plumage, apart from their size and other characteristics.

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