Chicken Losing Feathers

[Chichin Mama]

I have a Barred Rock hen that is losing feathers. I am hoping that some more experienced chicken keepers could give me some idea as to what it could be. Henrietta is about ten months old. She has been being housed with three other hens, all four of which I have had since chicks. She does seem to feel a little lighter than the others so I would say she is running on the skinny side. She has lost so many feathers to the point that she has bald spots, especially under her wings, on her belly, and around her vent. She also has some feather loss on her neck. I noticed an abnormal amount of feathers in the coop on Monday and immediately checked for predators and to make sure the girls were okay. I noticed the feather loss on Henrietta and kept a close eye on her until Friday, when I decided to separate her to better pinpoint the problem and to completely rule out bullying. After moving her to a dog crate in the garage, I noticed that the feathers continued to fall out, and since I have never seen anyone bullying her, I don't think that's the issue, but I could be wrong. I have been keeping an eye on the others and no one else seems to be having the drastic plummage loss like Henrietta. She has no bleeding, but does have bare skin showing. I have tried to look closely at her skin and my unexperienced eye cannot see any sign of mites or lice. I did notice some peeling skin on her belly, but that's the only thing I noticed. We live in south central Michigan and our weather has been all over the place so I wonder if it could possibly be a stress molt? She is eating DuMOR layer pellets, water with a little ACV, and some 5 grain scratch as an occasional treat. Her poop seems normal. The feathers appear to be ripped rather than being plucked completely out. She has not laid since I separated her. My questions are- A: What are some reasons her feathers could be falling out given the circumstances? B: Would it hurt to stick her back in with the others? C: What are some things I can do to help her/resolve the problem? (Sorry for the bad quality pics)

 

[Tookie]

She's just molting! Completely normal.
She can go back with the others. You could get a grower/starter feed to help her through the molt, cause it has higher protein.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Probably molting, as recommended more PROTEIN would really help. Feathers are "protein" hence some when lacking will start feather pecking. Mealworms are great as a treat & protein, tuna another and as mentioned Starter/Grower. I stopped doing stage feeding/layer years ago after reading an article about how much it takes for a hen to produce an egg. Switched to Flock Raiser (20%) while other have gone to All Purpose, Multi Flock, something with more protein. Think there's even layer feed made with more protein now. When doing this, put out an separate dish of Oyster Shells for the extra calcium they need for egg shells. Layer has more calcium ... Which is not recommended for chicks & Roos, affecting their liver/kidneys.

 

[Chichin Mama]

Thank you so much for the quick responses! I appreciate the insight. I suspected molting but it's always great to get others' more experienced opinions. I am giving her soldier worms, we will make adjustments to their feed, and she will go back in with the others very soon. Thank you for all the help! I greatly appreciate it!

 

[ellen60]

I have a Barred Rock hen that is losing feathers. I am hoping that some more experienced chicken keepers could give me some idea as to what it could be. Henrietta is about ten months old. She has been being housed with three other hens, all four of which I have had since chicks. She does seem to feel a little lighter than the others so I would say she is running on the skinny side. She has lost so many feathers to the point that she has bald spots, especially under her wings, on her belly, and around her vent. She also has some feather loss on her neck. I noticed an abnormal amount of feathers in the coop on Monday and immediately checked for predators and to make sure the girls were okay. I noticed the feather loss on Henrietta and kept a close eye on her until Friday, when I decided to separate her to better pinpoint the problem and to completely rule out bullying. After moving her to a dog crate in the garage, I noticed that the feathers continued to fall out, and since I have never seen anyone bullying her, I don't think that's the issue, but I could be wrong. I have been keeping an eye on the others and no one else seems to be having the drastic plummage loss like Henrietta. She has no bleeding, but does have bare skin showing. I have tried to look closely at her skin and my unexperienced eye cannot see any sign of mites or lice. I did notice some peeling skin on her belly, but that's the only thing I noticed. We live in south central Michigan and our weather has been all over the place so I wonder if it could possibly be a stress molt? She is eating DuMOR layer pellets, water with a little ACV, and some 5 grain scratch as an occasional treat. Her poop seems normal. The feathers appear to be ripped rather than being plucked completely out. She has not laid since I separated her. My questions are- A: What are some reasons her feathers could be falling out given the circumstances? B: Would it hurt to stick her back in with the others? C: What are some things I can do to help her/resolve the problem? (Sorry for the bad quality pics)

Did you ever figure out what was going on with Henrietta?

 

[Chichin Mama]

Yes, I did. She was just going through a molt. She is fine now and none of the others ever molted, so I'm not quite sure why it happened, but I'm very glad that it wasn't more serious!