Easter egger not laying eggs

[Ry123]

Hi everyone so I think I know what was causing this behavior in my Easter egger. She has started to have a molt. So much so that she seems to not act like herself. She has started to not eat a lot and has began to lose a whole lot of feather. She looks like at some point she will begin to bald. Is it normal for her to eat close to nothing? This could explain why she wasn't laying eggs. This is her first molt. However her poop has been looking normal. She has only been wanting to eat grass and worms. What should I do?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Is it normal for her to eat close to nothing? This could explain why she wasn't laying eggs. This is her first molt. However her poop has been looking normal. She has only been wanting to eat grass and worms. What should I do?

Molting birds are uncomfortable and I do notice they eat less during the start of molt. I wouldn't worry about it as long as she's still eating and drinking some. Are the grass and worms things she's foraging, or is that stuff you're deliberately feeding her?

 

[Ry123]

That's stuff I am deliberately feeding her but she seems to barely be eating anything so I am a little worried. What can I do to get her to eat? I gave her some scrambled eggs and worms today and grass and she ate it all but is not interested in her layer feed @rosemarythyme

 

[rosemarythyme]

That's stuff I am deliberately feeding her but she seems to barely be eating anything so I am a little worried. What can I do to get her to eat? I gave her some scrambled eggs and worms today and grass and she ate it all but is not interested in her layer feed @rosemarythyme

Have you tried wetting her feed to see if that makes it more appealing?

Or maybe get a small bag of non-medicated chick feed - higher protein, less calcium since she's not laying, and most hens seem to enjoy it. You can try wetting that down as well if she doesn't take to it dry.

 

[Ry123]

Have you tried wetting her feed to see if that makes it more appealing?

Or maybe get a small bag of non-medicated chick feed - higher protein, less calcium since she's not laying, and most hens seem to enjoy it. You can try wetting that down as well if she doesn't take to it dry.

Yes I tried wetting her food but she doesn't want it she will pecks a bit. I'm going to try to get her feed changed. How will I know if she is actually sick? But she has been pooping solid which means she has been getting some sort of food in her and it looks healthy.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Yes I tried wetting her food but she doesn't want it she will pecks a bit. I'm going to try to get her feed changed. How will I know if she is actually sick? But she has been pooping solid which means she has been getting some sort of food in her and it looks healthy.

If poop looks good and she still eats and more importantly, drinks, I'd chalk it up to the molt. I would not be surprised to see some lethargy and a pale, shrunken comb as well.

 

[Ry123]

If poop looks good and she still eats and more importantly, drinks, I'd chalk it up to the molt. I would not be surprised to see some lethargy and a pale, shrunken comb as well.

Okay, thank you so much! How much should she be eating? Tonight she had less then half of her crop full. Kind of like a small golf ball size.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Okay, thank you so much! How much should she be eating? Tonight she had less then half of her crop full. Kind of like a small golf ball size.

Honestly I don't check. I try to be as hands off with molters as possible since they get upset at being touched.

 

[Ry123]

Honestly I don't check. I try to be as hands off with molters as possible since they get upset at being touched.

Okay, thank you so much I appreciate it!!!

 

[Ry123]

Hi everyone I thought this would be a important update for whoever could be having the same symptoms that my hen has. This morning she took a turn for the worse and out of nowhere couldn't get food through her crop. It was full at night and still full in the morning. I thought she may have had impacted crop or sour crop. But she was still pooping lots of liquid now because I was force feeding her. But she just completely stopped eating overall. I took her to the vet and the veterinarian told me that these are signs of a respiratory infection or possible internal laying. They checked her and there was no egg but they checked her lungs and came to find out it was a respiratory infection. Due to her molting her immune system went down and got her susceptible to this infection. She never showed signed of sneezing or mouth breathing or even liquid coming out of her nose. Which are typically big indicators. So I thought maybe this information could potentially help someone out. Thank you all for helping me out i truly appreciateall of your guys feedback!!!