[Blarney]

I've posted a couple of messages on here and understandably with Christmas I've had very little response but now I think my hen is in trouble so I'd really be very grateful for some advice.

One of my hens is about 18 months old; a week ago we found a massive amount of feathers in the run one evening but the girls were already in bed when we got home.  In the morning, out came one almost bald. 

She's continued to eat and drink well; runs towards you when the veggies are taken out and seems ok in herself. Her eyes are bright, she's holding her head as normal, there is no smell coming from her beak and her crop is filling and emptying ok. She doesn't appear to have any mites.

We have five hens and they all get on ok. 

We just thought she was moulting until she started walking sideways yesterday.  We've come in this afternoon and she's now bleeding where one of the others is pecking at the stumps of feathers around her wings and breast.

We've now brought her inside and she's settled.

I'm just really worried about her.

All and any advice is welcome.  Please help.

Thank you

[grumpydad]

sounds like she has moulted, one of mine lost most of her feathers in a couple of days, a cruel time to moult i know, the problem is that the others will peck at the new feathers as they emerge.

as long as you can find no other underlying problems, and she is eating ok, then it may need a bit of gentian violet to hide the feather pecking, as the new feathers come through. birds are attracted to red, so if she is pecked and one of the feathers bleeds, it is a signal for the others to have a go at her.

growing feathers is very stressful and she may need some extra protein, which is usually why chucks eat feathers, so consider some fish cat food, for all of them, but to help the chuck that has moulted, also some extra vitamins, either by way of poultry spice on their food, or life guard in their drinking water.

monitor, to make sure there are no untoward other effects, and make sure she is eating and drinking.

[Foxy]

OK Blarney, a hard moult like this can really knock the stuffing out of hens, it takes a lot of energy to moult in the best of times, a sudden, hard moult in this weather is very hard on a chook. Normally hens moult in s specific sequence replacing feathers and the whole process from start to finish takes around 6 weeks, and this normally starts around late summer, early autumn. Hens usually stop laying around this time.

Have a look closely at where the feather quills should be growing through, you should see tiny red quills starting to push through the skin. These are very attractive to other hens, especially if you have hybrids. The shock of the moult and the pecking will be stressful and exhausting for her, possibly fatal, I have lost a hen that moulted like this -and I have found hens going through the first moult anyway are vulnerable.

I agree bringing her in is the best thing, plus I would switch her to chick crumb with a pinch of poultry spice. Oregstim (if you can get it or Lifeguard) in her water. A little kitten food mixed with chopped boiled egg will help too.

Good luck with her, unless she has moulted like this before and been OK, I would watch her very carefully, keep her warm and comfortable

[Blarney]

Thank you so much Foxy & GrumpyDad.  She's in our warm downstairs loo and is settled now.  I forgot to say that I added poultry spice to her pellets.  We've just seen the little feathers that you described Foxy.

It's good to know it's 'just' a moult and nothing more serious.  Although I understand how hard it could be on her.

Fingers crossed she'll make it through.  I'm off work until next week so at least I can keep an eye on her throughout the days.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the time you've taken to help me.

[themagicaltoad1]

Try not to keep her out of sight of the other chickens for too long or you could have problems re-introducing her to the flock.

[iwantanallotment]

Sorry to butt in late, but I would also suggest spraying her with a drop of Gentian Violet, to discourage further pecking.  When there is any sign of blood other hens can be merciless.
All the very best, I hope she feathers up again quickly ~ meanwhile try to provide extra warmth for her outdoors during this bitter weather. Mop heads suspended from a perch are a good idea. xxx

[Flowerpower136]

Mop heads suspended from a perch are a good idea. xxx

Am trying to picture this and work out how it keeps chucks warm. . . nestle in underneath?  Do they do that?

Sorry about your baldy chuck, glad it sounds like its natural causes.  When my ex batts were regrowing their feathers, we had a few pecked quills. I used a product called 'Featherite', a clear liquid spray which stops them feather pecking. I imagine it tastes nasty because it worked very well. Where we had a lot of blood, I used purple spray to disguise the red, but take care not to get it on you or your clothing, and be prepared for 'purple gradually fading to lilac' chucks for some time to come!  Doesn't half clash with ginger

[iwantanallotment]

Mop heads suspended from a perch are a good idea. xxx

Am trying to picture this and work out how it keeps chucks warm. . . nestle in underneath?  Do they do that?

YES, they do.  I have witnessed even the youngest birds/chicks keeping warm with this simple, old-fashioned method. It came from an old timer with 60 years' experience and is well-proven.
Some may poo-poo the old ways, but - the hens lived, the chicks lived, and we are in effect reaping the bounty assured by our forefathers and their hens/chicks and "old ways".
I won't hear a word against the "old ways", and think we have much yet to learn, that we need modern gizmos, heat mats and stuff whereas they managed perfectly without?

[Sassy]

Mop heads suspended from a perch are a good idea. xxx

My Grandmother used to raise chicks like this. The mop is the equivalent of the chicks settling in under Mum

[Rubellite]

Mop heads suspended from a perch are a good idea. xxx

My Grandmother used to raise chicks like this. The mop is the equivalent of the chicks settling in under Mum

Would love to have seen a photo 

[Flowerpower136]

If it gets any colder, I'm going to try it for myself.

We are now offically 'cut off', all roads closed.