Rapid feather and weight loss.

[ChickenKeep01]

My golden laced wyandotte recently went broody on 7 eggs but about 2 weeks into incubation a hawk attacked the coop next to hers and killed 2 chickens this scared her off her eggs and died, after this i broke her in a wire bottom cage and it worked she went back to normal but then a couple days later she started losing feathers and weight. She now has almost not meat on her at all and all of her stomach feathers are missing and her comb is very pale. (i know hens pull out their stomach feathers when sitting on eggs and she did when going broody but now she has no feathers at all on her underside). I'm in australia so i dont think shes moulting, the rooster with her is fine with no injuries, i have check their droppings for worms and nothing and none of the chooks in the coop next to her are experiencing any symptoms.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

A lot of my hens who were sitting broody's go through a "Mini molt" when they are done. It is not related to daylight or weather when this happens. Maybe it's from lack of nutrient during sitting, since that is one way the industry forces molt on all their birds at the same time. And they have usually lost some condition from sitting in addition to molting being a hard time. Feathers are made from 90% protein and it's amino acids. So depending on what you already feed, a little extra could help her recover quicker.

Regarding worms... the ONLY worms that will EVER be seen in dropping are large round worms and tape worms. ALL other will stay in the intestine and only their microscopic oocysts (eggs) will pass in the droppings. A fecal float at the vet (or if you have your own microscope) can help to rule those out.

Also possible bugs would be poultry lice or mites. Some mites are microscopic and you will never see them either, while others don't live on the birds and only come out to feed on them at night. You can look for eggs that look like dirt clumps near the base of the feather shaft.

I suspect your gal is facing a stress induced molt. Her body is tapped out. Brought on by brooding followed up with the attack, broody breaking, and maybe the loss of 2 flock mates. Sorry for your loss.

Can you post a pic of her, sometimes it helps to see what's going on.

Hope she recovers quickly!

 

[ChickenKeep01]

Sorry it took a while to get the photos.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She's molting

I would make sure she is eating well and getting plenty of fresh water. Molting is very hard on birds. What is the protein content of your feed? Molting birds can benefit from extra protein in the diet, you can offer meat, fish or eggs or higher protein feed like chick starter. Poultry vitamins added her water for a couple of days, then once a week would be good too.

Losing weight is concerning. How much has she lost, did you weigh her? Get a baseline weight on her so you know. Molting birds can also look quite pitiful and may look like they have lost a lot of weight too.

Giver her a good going over just to make sure there are no mites/lice and that her crop is emptying overnight. Careful when handling a molting bird, they are sensitive and rough handling can even damage emerging pin feathers.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Sorry it took a while to get the photos.
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Yes, all the new pin feathers indicate it is indeed molt. The vent area looks a little redder than I like to see in pic #3.

Feathers are made from 90% protein and it's amino acids. Feeding a little higher protein than "layer" will help her to recover faster. She will not lay eggs during this time. That looks like a fairly "hard" molt.

I agree that molting is hard on a bird and the pin feathers are very painful. They usually aren't themselves during this time. A bit withdrawn.

Just be good to her, she's been through a lot!