Naked hybrid chickens

I have to ask because I can't stop thinking about it. Yesterday I went with my daughters class to a local petting farm that has chickens. Now let me start this by saying this is a very well set up hobby farm and they obviously take great care with their critters. The chicken area is huge and not at all crowded and very clean. There was 1 roo and about 60-80 hens but hard to say for sure since I couldn't see the inside and outside areas at the same time. The sign said they were sex sal link chickens but yikes they were soooo naked! No blood but the hens backs were red and bare. The roo looked like a baboon with the back half red and plucked bare. I saw no signs of sickness and so I ask the question is this normal for hybrid chickens? Our chickens occasionally look scruffy when molting but nothing like this!

That was one reason I got into heritage breeds. Those sex linked chickens (ISA Browns) are very sad when they molt. I am guessing that is what is happening. I am guessing they are maybe even rescue hens they got from a layer barn which makes the balding more severe.

This is one reason why I chose heritage chickens as well, but I have had naked behinds on some of these as well. I had a very sad SLW rooster that was so busy with the girls and the rooster through the fences that he looked terrible. A winter by himself improved his appearance.

SerJay wrote:I have to ask because I can't stop thinking about it. Yesterday I went with my daughters class to a local petting farm that has chickens. Now let me start this by saying this is a very well set up hobby farm and they obviously take great care with their critters. The chicken area is huge and not at all crowded and very clean. There was 1 roo and about 60-80 hens but hard to say for sure since I couldn't see the inside and outside areas at the same time. The sign said they were sex sal link chickens but yikes they were soooo naked! No blood but the hens backs were red and bare. The roo looked like a baboon with the back half red and plucked bare. I saw no signs of sickness and so I ask the question is this normal for hybrid chickens? Our chickens occasionally look scruffy when molting but nothing like this!

I have some that look just like that. How do you encourage new feather growth?

New feather growth would require lots of space, sometimes those little saddles Miry makes helps if they are bald on just their backs, increased protein (so switch them back to a grower ration), and watch for pickers. I found in my ISA browns that if they started loosing feathers due to molt the others wouldnt help by picking off the new feather growth...And free range grass,that is what I do to my molting birds is turn them out completely free range so they can get the bugs and greens they need.