Not a disease, but: how to care for brahma's feathers?

[blackmulberry]

Hi, everyone! This is Titânia. She was introduced last month to the flock. She came here with some problems that I'm already solving with the vet's help. But I was wondering if there's something I can do for her feathers to look prettier. I know in this picture we can't see it well, but her feet feathers are a mess and our soil is somehow orange colored. She looking more and more dirty with the orange color and her feathers don't look as smooth as my other chickens.

Second picture is my beige/yellow Sol just for comparison. Titânia is why far from the pretty brahma hens I see on internet... Would you recommend me something? Is there something I can do for her?

 

[azygous]

Do you live in the northern hemisphere or the southern half of the planet? If your location is the northern part of the world, your hens will be going into molt soon, and Titania may already be in molt. To verify this, look carefully on the back of her neck and head. If you see a uniform clustering of tiny pin feathers erupting, she's in molt. Depending on how quickly she molts, she will soon have a new set of gleaming sleek feathers.

You can assist the process by feeding high grade animal protein such as fish or meat once a week during molt which usually lasts from now until January.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I think your Brahma has a shredding gene due to lavender. Many if not most of the lavender brahmas I have seen have a darker head and lighter body. Carolina Rare Chicks hatchery has lavenders exactly like yours.

 

[blackmulberry]

Do you live in the northern hemisphere or the southern half of the planet? If your location is the northern part of the world, your hens will be going into molt soon, and Titania may already be in molt. To verify this, look carefully on the back of her neck and head. If you see a uniform clustering of tiny pin feathers erupting, she's in molt. Depending on how quickly she molts, she will soon have a new set of gleaming sleek feathers.

You can assist the process by feeding high grade animal protein such as fish or meat once a week during molt which usually lasts from now until January.

In fact, I live in Brazil, so it's tropical and it's hot almost all the time in my region (South is colder, they can reach 0 degrees). It's 32º Celsius right now by the way and she's laying everyday in the morning.

I didn't know I could offer fish for chickens. I eat fish everyday, by the way. It wouldn't be difficult if it's just a small quantity.

 

[blackmulberry]

I think your Brahma has a shredding gene due to lavender. Many if not most of the lavender brahmas I have seen have a darker head and lighter body. Carolina Rare Chicks hatchery has lavenders exactly like yours.
View attachment 3934567

That's right! The sir who sold me Titânia told me she's a lavender one. I was just not sure she was really a pure one...
But his brahma in the picture look much more bright and fluffy than Titânia, specially the feet. Her feet is always a mess...
BTW, when I find her feathers on the floor they're always half-broken feathers like in the picture attached.
I'm giving her vitamins directly on the beak everyday.

 

[azygous]

Once a week on the fish. Not every day. Too much protein is hard on the kidneys. But during molt, it can really help a lot.

I've always been curious about chickens living near the equator. They still need to molt to replace worn out feathers, and your hen does look like she needs a new set of feathers.

But whether they each molt on a personal time frame or if they molt in stages over the entire year due to the daylight not varying much in length at that latitude, remains a question. I would love it if our members who dwell at the equator would observe when their chickens molt and report to us how they do it.

But do have a look over your hen's body. Molt is obvious. You will see those new feathers emerging in uniform patches on various parts of the body. Some molt very quickly, while others take weeks to get a change of feathers.

 

[blackmulberry]

Thank you! Since me and Titânia are going to the vet this wednesday, I'll ask about the molt and about the amount of fish she would recommend for them.
Well, Titânia doesn't really have those things around her calamus to form feathers this moment. I asked the seller today he said she's around 8 months old.
Sincerely, she came for me with chicken lice and after I had to treat intestinal worms too. Now it looks like she has bumblefoot two... As you can see, he didn't treat her with care. That's why I'm taking her to Doctor Melissa who treated Ébano once. (the cockerel in the pictures, his name means Ebony in English)

About molt again, I'm not sure since I'm a first-time chicken mom. You mean in the north chickens will change all their feathers in winter? Or just some of them? I can take a look on that for you. Sounds interesting!
I'll start seeing more feathers inside the coop right? I'll also ask Doctor Melissa if she knows about it since she's a bird specialist, although they usually know more about parrots since few people spend on chickens in Brazil.

I attached two files. First picture taken in july. Second in august. Each day he gets more feathers but maybe because he's growing and because Auri (the boss roo) plucks his feathers. Well, he's getting smarter and learning how to not upset Auri...

 

[azygous]

Yes, chickens molt all their feathers once a year, as a norm. Some individuals may have a different time table. But they do not molt until their second year. Your young bird is too young to be molting.

The most common cause of feathers becoming tattered and broken is feather picking from other chickens. A little more rare is feather mites, and given the other parasites your chicken came with, this should be something to ask the vet about. There is treatment for it.

Chicken molting is triggered by the length of day light growing shorter. They molt in stages, commonly taking a month or two. The end result is a completely new set of feathers to replace the ones that have worn out over the past year.

 

[azygous]

Here is a BYC thread on the topic of molting in equatorial regions. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/molting-in-tropical-or-subtropocal-environments.937063/

To summarize the information contained in the thread, in these regions, molt is still triggered mainly by the shortening of daylight, which even at the equator, though quite imperceptible, is the main factor. Molt usually is spread out over a longer period in these regions where there is no real winter.

 

[blackmulberry]

Here is a BYC thread on the topic of molting in equatorial regions. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/molting-in-tropical-or-subtropocal-environments.937063/

To summarize the information contained in the thread, in these regions, molt is still triggered mainly by the shortening of daylight, which even at the equator, though quite imperceptible, is the main factor. Molt usually is spread out over a longer period in these regions where there is no real winter.

Hello! I took quite long to answer, but the doctor told me molting in Brazil will happen all the year. We can observe some feathers falling but not all of them.
Well, Titânia is currently on molting. Her back has very few feathers. She was also hurt by lice...

BTW it's SUPER hot here. I'm not sure if I'm doing right but since the girls are always hot even if many water sources I wet them with some water. It's only temporary, 'cause they dry in like... 30min? Hens really struggle...