Lavender Orpington Feathers

[bbhorsefly]

We purchased a couple of Orpington "pullets" in mid August. They were in a muddy pen and just looked pitiful. The black's feathers were mostly downy and weren't very tight, we could see skin through the feathers. The lavender had better coverage, but each feather looks frayed.
Here's a picture of them when we brought them home:

Now that we've had them for about 2 months on fermented feed and in drier conditions the black is looking much better! The feathers are coming in fuller, smooth, and shiny! "She" has also turned out to be a "he."

But the lavender still looks pretty gross. I don't think she grooms herself. She appears to just have a dirty layer over her and her feathers don't appear to be improving. Looking up pictures of lavenders, even "nice" ones seem to have the frayed feather look. Is that just an expected trait? What's the best way to clean her or keep her clean? Does she still look like a she? I haven't encountered this issue before. All of our other chickens, male and female, have beautiful smooth shiny feathers and keep themselves clean.

 

[chicklover 1998]

did her feathers ever start looking better, my roo alway has frayed feathers no idea why but everyone else has great feathers and he is my top roo, so not getting picked on.

 

[bbhorsefly]

Her color has and she doesn't look so dirty all the time, but the frayed look hasn't. I'll try and get some pictures of her tomorrow. I haven't got close ups of her in a long while. I love the way her lavender glows!