1 yr old buff Orp. Malnourished,sick, bullied?

[angielight]

This used to be my biggest fluffiest hen. I have 3 Buff Orpingtons. They all were hatched together. The other two look fine. The other two bully this one a little when it comes to food but they leave each other alone in the yard. Her comb and wattle aren't as red as they once were. I'm not sure what to do. She is also exhibiting some food hesitation. We separated them and fed her some worms. They all used to jump all over them, but she ran away and came back to hesitantly eat and didn't finish them, when she would once devour them. Any ideas on what's going on and how to remedy it? Thanks

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Has she molted or in the process of molting.

 

[angielight]

Would that account for lack of appetite? She is losing feathers. She will be 1 in the end of February are they supposed to molt before a year old? The others are not molting.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Some do molt earlier, especially if they are in between old enough and not old enough, molting hens will act sick sometimes, they become less outgoing and will sometimes avoid the flock because molting is uncomfortable. Combs and wattles will shrink anytime a hen is out of lay. Best thing is to let her be and to make sure she has places to get away from her flock mates, and provide multiple eating spots so she can feed more comfortably. You can offer her some higher protein feeds like eggs and cottage cheese to help, otherwise if she continues to get worse it could be an illness, but odds are on a molt.