Any beauty tips for hens?

[TreeHugger]

Some of my Silkie hens are a litte "shabby" looking. I've had them locked up in the chicken house for the last 2 weeks because I was working on their new run & it wasn't secure, before that they were sharing space with a few roos who proceeded to pull some of their head feathers out. Plus, some of them are going through molting & I just got through battling chicken lice - I think I won that battle. Right now they are on layer chicken crumbles, cracked corn, & plenty of fresh air & grass (at least until they kill it all). Someone suggested I feed them Biotin which is a suppliment for horses to improve hoof & hair growth. Anybody have any suggestions?

 

[chickensioux]

All of the things you describe will cause chickens to look "shabby" molting, lice, kept up. I would just make sure that their getting plenty of fresh air, good feed, clean water and good treats like greens, veggies, etc. They will shape up in time.

P.S. My 2 silkies were in the same shape about 6 months ago. Leg mites, loss of head feathers they are just now starting to feather out again and look good.

 

[pixie74943]

Isn't protein good for feathers? Extra protein scraps or mixing in some high protein feeds might help them clean up faster

 

[cybercat]

Yes show breeder feed a 20% protien ration to keep feathers in top condition. I would be very wary of giving anything to a chicken made for another animal. Chickens digestion works different.