NewFLChickenMama
Chirping
Hi All-
Mixed flock, two 13 month old Barred Rocks going though a significant molt. Bald rears, some feather loss at necks. They mirror each other in the locations of feather loss, while the Easter egger lost all of her head feathers, and now has started losing her tail and rear also.
Normally the BR skin is not this red in those places, but I see that in many of the photos here of molts- but certainly not all. I do have a different hen who is a little obsessive, but what I'm referring to doesn't look like damage at this phase (there was a bit of pecking and a skin tear amongst the dear Harpies, and that's been treated and has healed over). Is the red normal? Increased blood flow to the skin? Irritation from the feathers about to break through the skin? Heck... sunburn (though they have plenty of shade) or even windburn (the ladies have a waterproof fan in their run). Also keep in mind that I'm not used to seeing bare chicken skin- it's somewhat dry looking, and uneven in color, but that color fades in and out over the course of the day.
Follow-up question- If the Louboutin look is normal, aside from upping the protein in their diet, should I be somehow trying to soothe the skin also? Moisturize it? Aloe? Not sure what would be safe for them. I figure for myself, if I can eat it, putting it on my skin isn't likely to hurt me (absorption one way or another) - that said, I'll experiment on myself, but not on my girls.
What do you guys think?
Thanks in advance!
Mixed flock, two 13 month old Barred Rocks going though a significant molt. Bald rears, some feather loss at necks. They mirror each other in the locations of feather loss, while the Easter egger lost all of her head feathers, and now has started losing her tail and rear also.
Normally the BR skin is not this red in those places, but I see that in many of the photos here of molts- but certainly not all. I do have a different hen who is a little obsessive, but what I'm referring to doesn't look like damage at this phase (there was a bit of pecking and a skin tear amongst the dear Harpies, and that's been treated and has healed over). Is the red normal? Increased blood flow to the skin? Irritation from the feathers about to break through the skin? Heck... sunburn (though they have plenty of shade) or even windburn (the ladies have a waterproof fan in their run). Also keep in mind that I'm not used to seeing bare chicken skin- it's somewhat dry looking, and uneven in color, but that color fades in and out over the course of the day.
Follow-up question- If the Louboutin look is normal, aside from upping the protein in their diet, should I be somehow trying to soothe the skin also? Moisturize it? Aloe? Not sure what would be safe for them. I figure for myself, if I can eat it, putting it on my skin isn't likely to hurt me (absorption one way or another) - that said, I'll experiment on myself, but not on my girls.
What do you guys think?
Thanks in advance!
