Why don't my chickens preen?

[lgyure85]

I have two silkie bantams, a girl that fell off a truck, and another rescue girl. Everyone is less than 6 months old, and this last molt has been ridiculous! I ended up preening everyone! The silkies started looking like Pinhead from Hellraiser! What the heck?

 

[sourland]

Kinda hard to preen the back of your head.

 

[lgyure85]

Oh, I know that, it was just the most obvious spot. I even fixed the tail and wing feathers! No excuses there! Some chickens get their head feathers fixed, how do they do? Chickens don't groom socially, so I know other chickens won't do it for them

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I have seen some mutual grooming amongst chickens, especially hens grooming the roosters face.

Some chickens can reach a foot up to their head for a quick scratch.

Most crested birds need help with their head feathers. The sheath that covers new feathers does eventually break down and falls off on it's own, but it can take some time, so help in removing them is always appreciated.

 

[biophiliac]

¿Could someone say a little more about HOW to help a chicken Preen? :-D

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

For crest feathers I pinch the sheath of new feathers slightly between my fingers and try to crunch and roll them slightly to try to crack them off. Otherwise just gently pulling stuff out can work too. A gentle scratch on the head can work too.

For my polish I trim their crests short which helps to remove the sheath more quickly. No matter how many time I trim them the feathers grow out a bit each time.

 

[biophiliac]

Thanks! I just hadnt yet heard about grooming chickens - good to know!

 

[biophiliac]

Thought I was just supposed to look for external parasites. Feathers are kind of unfamiliar to me so I did not want to break any or mess them up by clumsiness, LOL. My first 5 birds seem to groom themselves and have nice shiny feathers, I've seen them picking off the new feather sheaths. Wonder if any of mine would appreciate help with the hard to reach spots!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

chickens can usually reach most spots. The crests on birds is the only thing I occasionally help out with after a molt as being able to see the scalp due to feathers still encased in their feather sheath seems to sometimes draw bad attention and pecking.

All chickens have an oil preened gland on the base of their tails where they get oil to spread on their feathers to keep them healthy and weatherproof. Most birds need no help preening, occasionally some need help on their heads.