Have you noticed how fluffy and gorgeous the girls look? The molt is over and their new feathers are glossy and full. But, this beauty makeover isn’t just because of the end of the molt. Those of you who have watched the girls for the last few months have been concerned about Ginger’s naked neck and that ugly, bare patch of skin on Petunia’s back and the scraggly feathers by the hens’ vents. Observant HenCam viewers have seen the culprit — Snowball. Yes, the littlest hen is a feather picker. But she must have reformed her ways, because the girls are decked out in full-feathered splendor for the New Year.

I’m not sure why Snowball has given up her feather-picking vice. We did add calcium to her diet (free choice ground oyster shells) and we’ve given them new dirt in the run (more minerals?). Or, maybe, its just that she picked at the feathers the most when it was hot and sunny and the girls were sunbathing. Whatever the reason, I’m pleased to have the hens looking so pretty.