It has been brought to my attention that i forgot to produce pictures of my naked chicken. Gladys spent a good part of the summer desperately trying to be a mama. i tried all sorts of things to remedy that, save get her a baby chick (i wish!) but when she finally came to terms that her sweet eggs would only be used for my cooking adventures, she began to molt.
I left for Greece and all was well, Miss Gladys was eating and strutting around like a chicken should. The day i returned from Greece, my yard and the coop looked like someone had set off chicken bombs. I had downy white and red feathers everywhere! even the dogs and cats were bringing them into the house.
After discovering that when chickens go through a stressful event (i.e. failed mother-hood) they like to shed their feathers and start anew. I liked this idea. i wish i could do that, just shed all my skin and hair and start from scratch. all better.
Unfortunately glady looked like hell. she was angry and naked. she stomped around the yard growling and wouldnt let me near her.
frankly, i cant blame her. She had all of these quills poking through her soft pink skin and they looked painful! she was like a science experiment gone wrong trying to breed a porccupine and a chicken. ick! everytime i looked at her i would get chills and she would growl at me.
I did take a picture for you. these photos were taken after she had started to feather out again. You can see little puffs coming out of the quills. it is fascinating…and really creepy! I can tell you that if your hens do this, it will remedy itself. Gladys looks gorgeous now and her new red feathers are so lovely. she is also much happier and gaining weight again.
