Quote:
My original chickens included 2 EE's. When they got their adult feathering, they both had beautiful full beards and muffs. Then eventually they had bare chins and cheeks, but weren't missing any other feathers. Looked exactly as if they'd shaved their beards and sideburns off to bare skin. I kept checking them for mites, nothing. Eventually I noticed the same thing on one other hen, a NHR, also only in the just-under-the-chin area. My hens in general are very peaceable to each other (at least while I'm watching!)--the most I ever see is a single peck from a higher-ranked to a lower ranked hen, and the lower hen backs off. (To the extent that even with only six adult hens currently, I would not feel confident in listing each one by peck order--because there just is not enough pecking going on! I have some idea but not on the complete order...) (Well, I have seen multiple pecks in one case--after lights out given to Edna, the Silver Sebright, because she insists on pushing herself under another hen on the roost to keep warm and some of them don't tolerate it. They will peck her and she will insistently keep burrowing. She has not figured out: Betty will let her, Maude might, but Henrietta, Elnora, and Bonita WILL NOT. LOL!)
Anyway, finally one sunny day I see Bonita the EE standing very close to Maude the BSL. Maude is quite slowly and apparently gently pulling out Bonita's (regrowing) beard feathers. Bonita is standing there almost as if in a trance. Seems like it must have hurt to have those feathers pulled but no squawks or protests or attempts to move away, Bonita just let her keep plucking. Was Bonita just being submissive? Does Maude think the beard feathers are "weird" and should come off? That doesn't explain Betty the NHR's smooth chin, though, since with her full feathering there was no evidence of a beard.
Anyway, Chickmate, is the feather loss on yours that high up on the neck? Maybe they, like mine, enjoy Make-Believe Barbershop. Everyone needs a hobby!
