Ragged feathers

[RVAHens]

My 2.5yo buff orpington hen started to look a little ragged last spring. I switched the diet to feather fixer pellets, and have treated for mites 2 times- once last spring spraying all 5 chickens and coop with permethrin0.5% spray, and again early this fall by steaming the coop/roosts and bathing the affected chicken in a Dawn dishsoap and sulfur bath. None of the other chickens seem to be affected. I was hoping that maybe the feather damage had just been done and she would start to look better after molting this fall, but she just keeps looking worse and worse. Most of my other chickens have already molted and stopped laying. She has not been laying, but also has not molted yet. I am not sure what else to do, and now additionally worried that she will be cold this winter without a decent feather cover. I have never seen any actual mites on her or other chickens. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Pictures below. Thank you!

 

[Tonyroo]

Well I see she has no bald spots, that's a good sign for her to stay warm.

Some chickens take a very long time to start molting. Each molt is different in severity for every chicken. On that note, all you can do is check on her condition each day. And give her a higher percentage protein feed 20% and higher. This helps to run the molting process a little faster without being wiped out from it.

 

[SarahDucharme]

My 2.5yo buff orpington hen started to look a little ragged last spring. I switched the diet to feather fixer pellets, and have treated for mites 2 times- once last spring spraying all 5 chickens and coop with permethrin0.5% spray, and again early this fall by steaming the coop/roosts and bathing the affected chicken in a Dawn dishsoap and sulfur bath. None of the other chickens seem to be affected. I was hoping that maybe the feather damage had just been done and she would start to look better after molting this fall, but she just keeps looking worse and worse. Most of my other chickens have already molted and stopped laying. She has not been laying, but also has not molted yet. I am not sure what else to do, and now additionally worried that she will be cold this winter without a decent feather cover. I have never seen any actual mites on her or other chickens. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Pictures below. Thank you!

I have a similar problem with my cochin hen. It is now very cold and she has bald spots, but looks very similar to your hen. How is your hen looking now? Did you do anything else to help her out (i’m looking for any ideas to help my hen)?