The hens are going through a harsh molt right now. When I say harsh, I mean as in-... a girl just wants to hide for a few weeks. Annabelle, really- it's not that bad... o.k, I lied, it is bad....
Here's a close up, Annabelle seems to be suffering the most...at least she is the one we laugh at the most... The worst of it is actually over, I should have gotten my camera out a week ago. You can see the new feathers on her neck are almost out now...for a while she kind of looked like a bald vulture... You can see that her comb is kind of a pale red, it should be bright, she is experiencing a little iron deficiency due to the rigors of feather-making.
Anemia-brain, anyone?
I can relate. I feel a sort of sister-hood with my hen-friends. The way they wander around aimlessly for most of the day (it seems-they are actually doing important stuff), the way they work hard to produce something everyday, and then it disappears and they have to start all over again the next day (cleaning the house?! Making meals?-work with me, it's my analogy...)
My feelings of sister-hood are the strongest during molting season...
Sistahs, I can relate! Don't look at me... Don't-look-! Yes, I walk around the house like this sometimes...I am at a crossroads with my hair. I have very thick, kind of curly hair. Curly enough to look messy when I let it air-dry, yet it is so heavy that it will still be damp underneath at bed-time if I don't blow-dry it. Today I clipped the middle back portion up so it would dry underneath, thus my "feathers" sticking out around my head. It is so thick that it takes a lot of time to blow dry and straighten it. I had important stuff to do today, like..um, educating 5 kids, so I skipped the hair thing.
So, should I cut it shorter? I would like to, but I know that Sky likes it long...