Hello, I'm very new to chicken keeping and have had my 3 Salmon Faverolles for about 3 weeks now. (the guy we bought them from said they are from "last season" whatever that means) We love them, they are awesome, they have such different personalities. My Questions are, all 3 seem to not have that breed specific beard, are these just poorly bread, is it a disease or are they molting? also 2 of the hens have very small combs and one has a very large comb, I have to get some better pictures, for now this is all I got. do you think they look generally healthy? Please tell me what you guys think. Thank you very much! Anna
He means they're from last year's hatch. They just had their beards picked out, it's not uncommon. They will grow back just fine when they molt.
so if they are from last year's hatch, that makes them 1 year? sorry I'm not trying to sound ignorant, I just want to make sure I understand it all right. so do you think that the one with the "full" comb is older? and other then that, do you think they look like they are in good health? thank you
Yes, that would make them about 1 year old. Comb size does not indicate age. It looks like they've been in a breeding pen so once they molt they'll look even better! Just dust them for lice/mites and isolate for 3 or 4 weeks and you'll be fine.
oh yay!! i've been using DE on their nesting area and in the dusting place. thank you for your input!!