Help!!! I need to get my polish ready for a show!!

[Firestar2003]

One of my polish chickens might be entering a show on June 29. And so far her crest looks really weird, I don't know if she's molting are not. Some of the feathers on her head are gone and the rest are not good looking. What do I do please help!

 

[BantamLover21]

Could you post a photo of her and her crest? Is she with any other birds? The bad crest feathers could be caused by feather mites, picking by the other birds, or molting. Without seeing a photo, and if she was my bird that I was showing, this is what I would do:

1. Give her a good bath to remove dirt, parasites, or loose feathers
2. Pull out any feathers which look particularly bad. They may not grow in completely by the show, but a sparser crest is better than a full, but raggedy one.
3. Dust her with Sevin dust/another mite and lice spray to remove parasites. Clean out the coop or cage she is in, too, in order to get rid of more mites/lice.
4. Keep her separate from any other birds until the show to prevent picking.
5. Feed her sunflower seeds and/or mealworms until the show. The higher protein in those foods will help her grow in new, pretty feathers.

 

[Firestar2003]

ok I will try to post a photo. And thanks for the advise.

 

[Firestar2003]

 

[Firestar2003]

 

[Firestar2003]

 

[Firestar2003]

also does anyone here think she's molting or not, her crest was like this for a long time and I'm going to the 4-h mercer county fair in like two weeks… please help!

 

[BantamLover21]

So does her crest still look like it did over a month ago? Are any other feathers on her body growing in/looking like this? If her crest hasn't changed at all (or has gotten worse), then I don't think she is molting. Is she being kept with other birds? At least when you first posted, it looked to me like her feathers were getting damaged by mites or pecked by flockmates.

 

[Firestar2003]

well she is with other birds, And it might be a month since i have noticed… it might be mites or something else, i will cheek. And i have noticed that on the front of the crest its very dirty.