Keratinases are considerably gaining momentum in green technology because of their endowed robustness and multifaceted application potentials, such as keratinous agro-wastes valorization. Therefore, the production of novel keratinases from relatively nonpathogenic bacteria grown in agro-wastes formulated medium is cost-effective, and also imperative for the sustainability of thriving bioeconomy. In this study, we optimized keratinase production by sp. Nnolim-K1 grown in chicken feather formulated medium. The produced keratinase (KerBNK1) was biochemically characterized and also, the keratinase-encoding gene () was amplified and sequenced. The optimal physicochemical conditions for extracellular keratinase production determined were 0.8% () xylose, 1.0% () feather, and 3.0% () inoculum size, pH 5.0, temperature (25 °C) and agitation speed (150 rpm). The maximum keratinase activity of 1943.43 ± 0.0 U/mL was achieved after 120 h of fermentation. KerBNK1 was optimally active at pH and temperature of 8.0 and 60 °C, respectively; with remarkable pH and thermal stability. KerBNK1 activity was inhibited by ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid and 1,10-phenanthroline, suggesting a metallo-keratinase. The amplified showed a band size of 1104 bp and the nucleotide sequence was submitted to the GenBank with accession number MT268133. sp. Nnolim-K1 and the keratinase displayed potentials that demand industrial and biotechnological exploitations.