Mysterious Head Feather Issue, Not Sure of Cause. Please Help!

[ChickenLover390]

So, a few days ago I noticed that my red sex link hen Cheddar had grey on her head. I took a closer look and found that she seems to have lost all her feathers by her comb and is now growing them back. She is about 9 months old, so she is too young to be molting, right? None of my other hens look like her, and some of them are the same breed. They do have tapeworm, but they aren’t heavily infested, and we’re working on treating them. I haven’t found any tapeworm segments in her poop, so I don’t even know if she has the worms. She has been acting normal, but she looks not quite right and a bit scraggly. Does anyone have any ideas? Please let me know if you do. This is my first batch of chickens and she is my favorite. For further information, I do have a rooster, but I don’t know how he would be a part of this issue. I attached some photos, but Cheddar wouldn’t come very close to me because she doesn’t like my phone. I‘m assuming that the white specks on her in some of the photos are because she was grooming herself. The first photos are another hen of the same breed and Cheddar a few weeks ago.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!

Yes, a 9-month-old chicken can molt. Worms and deworming sometimes taxes their system too which can cause feather loss. If they're on layer pellets/crumbles, you could up her protein a little for a couple of weeks as it helps support feather growth.

 

[ChickenLover390]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!

Yes, a 9-month-old chicken can molt. Worms and deworming sometimes taxes their system too which can cause feather loss. If they're on layer pellets/crumbles, you could up her protein a little for a couple of weeks as it helps support feather growth.

Thanks for helping!