This red sex-link hen's name is Zoe. We bought her as a laying adult (the man said she was 1 yr) in March, along with 3 other hens. Zoe and 2 others had bald patches on the tops of their heads. Zoe also had the most raggedy feathers--you can see there are bare patches on the flight feathers. The ends of her feathers are also ragged and torn. I thought she was molting, but I'm still not sure how long a molt is supposed to last: 1 month? 6 months? I gave her some tuna fish to help speed up her molt, but didn't see any improvement.
I haven't seen any bugs on them or in their coop, even at night, but I've heard that some bugs are very difficult to see because they're tiny.
Zoe is otherwise healthy: bright red comb, no scaly legs, laying an egg almost daily (which goes against my molting theory), and foraging actively with the rest of the flock.
Does this look like a case of lice or mites?
Will try to post more pics soon.
I haven't seen any bugs on them or in their coop, even at night, but I've heard that some bugs are very difficult to see because they're tiny.
Zoe is otherwise healthy: bright red comb, no scaly legs, laying an egg almost daily (which goes against my molting theory), and foraging actively with the rest of the flock.
Does this look like a case of lice or mites?
Will try to post more pics soon.
