White stuff on my chickens heads !!!??? Are they molting ?? HELP !!!

[HennyPenny13]

I am a proud new chicken mama to my 11 black australorp girls. I have noticed that three of my hens have like white stuff on their heads. I got them when they were 9 weeks old back in April of 2012, are they molting ?? I'm not sure because i read a lot about molting and a lot of people say that they don't start to molt till they are a year old. Is this true ?? It looks as if they ate some yogurt and it got all over them. During the summer i give them yogurt and i have watched them do that lol. But they have not had yogurt in a while, they all seem to act normal and healthy but i really just wanted to know if its anything to be worried about. I will post a picture of one of them and hopefully someone can determine what it is. Thank You to whoever just took the time to read all of that lol.

 

[joelman7]

post a picture they may also be at the bottom of the pecking order and get picked on alot

 

[HennyPenny13]

 

[joelman7]

shes moulting or shes getting pecked

 

[LaynaDon95]

A few of my birds have had this, too. It is neither molting nor pecking. I have no idea what it is.

I've looked it up, but found nothing. It doesn't seem to bother them or cause problems. Have you checked you girls for lice or mites? It might be the cause.

 

[HennyPenny13]

It's not lice or mites and i have checked for that,usually when they get mites or lice it starts on their back. That was actually the first thing i thought of and panicked lol, but when i looked at them there wasn't any bare red irritated skin exposed and they seem to act fine. I read more on molting and the process,it usually starts at the head- neck- back- wings and then tail. More of my girls are beginning to look like they have splattered yogurt on their heads lol but i did a close inspection on them and didn't find and nasty bugga boos.

 

[Mac14]

One of our chickens is molting, and it looks similar to that. Oh, she is also about 9 months old,

 

[SilkiesForEver]

Can you post pictures that are really up-close? I want to get a better look at it.

 

[CluckyCharms]

I'm a complete chicken noob, but it looks like nothing more than new feather growth to me, and the 'white stuff' looks like the white sheath that surrounds feathers before they "fan out". I've taken the liberty of posting your pictures with the area in question enhanced. That definitely looks like new feather growth - but what caused the loss in the first place I don't know. I would guess it's an easy molt rather than pecking...doesn't appear to be pecked to me.

 

[SilkiesForEver]

I'm a complete chicken noob, but it looks like nothing more than new feather growth to me, and the 'white stuff' looks like the white sheath that surrounds feathers before they "fan out". I've taken the liberty of posting your pictures with the area in question enhanced. That definitely looks like new feather growth - but what caused the loss in the first place I don't know. I would guess it's an easy molt rather than pecking...doesn't appear to be pecked to me.

Thats what I thought when I saw the pictures.

HennyPenny13, have you seen them peck at each other? Even in a display of dominance?