Does my chicken have lice?

[Lunachick]

Yes, that looks like new feathers coming in. Even if she only 6 mos old - each chicken is different with a molt - may be she's just getting new neck feathers late. She looks nice and clean and pretty!

Did you do a look over everywhere else? She looks good to me!

 

[CMV]

Quote:
Chickens go through mini-molts all the time without us being aware of it. They may show almost no signs of it except for a few additional stray feathers floating around. Chickens are constantly losing and re-growing feathers. Was her head picked by a coop mate? Did it get particularly hot where you live? Did a bunch of feathers get broken off from her running into something? I am just throwing these suggestions out there. The feathers are re-growing because she lost them somehow. Molting is just a catch-all term for normal feather loss. Your hen is fine and in a few weeks will look better than ever with her new wardrobe.

 

[cgmccary]

Those are just new feathers. A chicken goes through about 7 sets of juvenile feathers before getting their first adult plumage.

At about age 18 months old (so this time next year), under normal circumstances, she will have her first full molt of her adult plumage. She will lose ALL her feathers & look pretty sad. She will do this, on average, once a year thereafter. What you are seeing now is her adult feathers coming in-- & completely normal (and right on time). She probably just lost her last "juvenile" feathers.

 

[nutmeg1980]

What a relief! I just assumed she was too young to molt, but I guess I was wrong. Thanks everyone!!

 

[Wynette]

They can also lose feathers when they are ill, so it could also be that she was exposed to something & lost some feathers, got over the mild illness, and is now growing them back. She's a pretty girl!

 

[nutmeg1980]

Thanks Wynette! By the way, those eggs you have as your avatar - did they come from your black copper marans? I have two that haven't started to lay, and I'm curious what their eggs will look like.

 

[mcossey]

Thank you so much for this post. I am a novice at raising chickens and noticed the same thing on my girls. I treated them a while back for the red mite (and their coop). They started looking a lot better after that. Their waddles and such are a nice pinkish red now. But they still had that white stuff on their head feathers. I was afraid it was lice and was searching the net for an answer. I feel much better knowing it is just the finishing up of the molt.