[gdaniels98]

As a novice chicken keeper I would appreciate some opinions on these photos. The white stuff on the 'ears' looks like powder but doesn't rub off. Hen is behaving normally and stuff hasn't spread to the three other birds in the hen house.
What is it and is there anything I can/should do about it?

Many thanks
Graham Daniels

[raeburg]

looks like it's just the skin pigment.

[joyfull]

does to me too, some of my girls got it as they got older.

[gdaniels98]

does to me too, some of my girls got it as they got older.

Thanks for looking. As long as it doesn't seem to be something I should be worried about. Hen is laying well and behaves as normal - generally running wildly around the run scratching for bugs and eating treats of grapes and pears!

[themagicaltoad1]

Looks like she's just got a bit of make up on, needs a bit of lippy to go with it, and maybe some nice earings?

[patandlaura]

One of my new birds has a similar decoration.
I thought it looked like cabbage aphids!  It was suggested that it was new feathers growing so hope that is all it is.   Mine are so flighty I couldn't possibly try to rub them off!

Anyway I am sending a picture. Similar to yours?

[gdaniels98]

Yes looks similar - but white stuff is a very thin layer - doesn't look like new feathers to me. More like some sort of fungus maybe?

[dizzylizzie]

Its not fungus, its pigmentation-lots of hens have it.

[patandlaura]

Sounds as though we need not worry then.  Perhaps it is like humans getting freckles!

Of course because we are new to chicken keeping we are noticing these things.  I haven't scrutinised hens so intensely before having them myself.