[birdlady]

hi, im new to the club and need some advice please. i have 2 hens, a leghorn and a bantom. my bantom is broody and it appears that my leghorn is not too well.  she has runny poos, is losing feathers at every shake of her body and is just not her usual, vocal self.  any advice? thanks

[Mother-Hen]

Hi
 sorry to hear about your girls being unwell I can't help but someone wll be along soon with help and advise - their really good here .

Oh and welcome

[redmolly]

How old is she?

[Foxy]

Moulting is a very stressful period for a bird, and, can put a lot of pressure on the immune system. It is not uncommon to lose pullets during their first moult,saying that it is a normal process and a healthy bird should come through OK, and often look a bit peaky during this process. What helps is a good quality diet and absolutely no treats. If it is a hard moult (losing a lot of feathers fast)I switch them on to growers pellets for a short while with the addition of poultry spice in their feed with a teaspoon of codliver oil once a week. Apple cider vinegar in the water at a rate of 25ml per litre.

[Aunt Sally]

Good advice Foxy but my two are moulting now and they consider everything I offer them to eat as poison. 

I'm hoping they can find enough around the garden, bugs and grass, to keep them alive and produce new feathers.  They've lost a lot of weight but are very active.

[birdlady]

hi, im new to the club and need some advice please. i have 2 hens, a leghorn and a bantom. my bantom is broody and it appears that my leghorn is not too well.  she has runny poos, is losing feathers at every shake of her body and is just not her usual, vocal self.  any advice? thanks

hi again, my leghorn (shaniqua) is 6months old and is a really great bird altogether. but im not sure if she is moulting as she has always had a semi-bald bum but it appears to be worse and she has stopped laying. she is eating but nowhere near as much as normal. she doesnt run to me as soon as she sees/hears me which is very upsetting!  my bantom (rocko) is broody and i have to physically lift her from the coop (with a few sharp pecks) and im not too sure how long this will last.  i have already lost 1 bantom after she was broody and dont want to lose either of these girls.

[redmolly]

Blimey!!! I may be wrong (as fairly new myself) but didn't think they moulted at that age??? Can anyone else shed any light??? Can you give your broody eggs or is that out of the question??? Have you checked for mites\lice etc? 

[SMD66]

It's more usual for young hens to have a partial moult in their first yr and a full moult in the second.  Foxy's advice re diet is the best way to help them.

Keep turfing the broody off the nest as often as possible, she will eventually get the message.  I have just had a light sussex trying to be broody for almost 2 weeks but she's got the message now.

[birdlady]

thank you SMD66, i try to keep Rocko out of her box as much as possible, but as my last bird died as she got wet while she was broody, im a little reluctant to keep her out all day, even tho she has other places to keep out of the rain.  as for Shaniqua, i cant help but worry about her as she really isn't herself.  she is losing her feathers at an alarming rate and i worried that she was plucking them herself, but, and this sounds very sad, i sit out with her and i havent noticed her plucking them!  my family think im bonkers, but what started off as a way of having fresh eggs, has become a very important part of my life and they are part of my family! anyone else feel like that?