Jasper is going through a lot right now! He’s experiencing his spring molt a little early. When birds molt, they shed a significant portion of their feathers and grow new ones in. This allows them to have fresh feathers for the new year, which ensures efficient flight, weather resistance, and camouflage. When feathers first grow in, they are surrounded by a sheath of keratin, which gives them a spiky appearance. They are called pinfeathers for this reason. Once the feathers are fully grown, the keratin becomes brittle and flaky, so the birds are able to preen them to crack the sheath open and reveal their fresh new feather!
This can be a somewhat uncomfortable process as pinfeathers can be sore and sensitive. Birds also seem to get pretty itchy when they have a lot of pinfeathers. There’s nothing we can do to rush the feather-growing process, either. During molting season, birds will bathe more often to soften their pinfeathers. Softer keratin sheaths means some relief from the itchiness, and any feathers ready to crack open are easier to preen when wet. Jasper had just gotten done with having a bath in this photo
Jasper, you look like a drowned rat! Silly owl. When your new feathers grow in though, you gonna look Mahvelous!