Keratin is a protein that acts as the key structural material in making up hair, nails, feathers, scales etc. It protects epithelial cells from damage or stress. Degradation of these keratin rich materials in nature is done by specific bacteria and other microorganisms that produce an enzyme called Keratinase. The present study aimed at the isolation, optimization and PCRassisted identification of Keratinase producing bacteria associated with chicken feathers. Keratinase producing bacteria were isolated from soil samples collected from chicken farms. The isolated bacteria were screened primarily on skimmed milk media and the colonies indicating keratinolytic behaviour were classified morphologically, microscopically and biochemically. The potential strains were then subjected to enzyme production in order to measure the enzyme activity. The effects of temperature, pH and period of incubation on the enzyme activity were also studied to identify the optimal range to produce the enzyme. The maximum enzyme activity was observed for the isolate VITSJ01 at an optimum pH of 5 and 37o C temperature. Further the potential strain was identified as Bacillus velezensis by 16S rDNA sequencing. The isolate was then successfully purified, sequenced and analysed by NCBI-BLAST for similar search. Thus, the purification of microbial keratinase from soil samples could be effectively utilized for degrading feather keratin and feathers can be converted to feedstuffs, fertilizers, glues and films.