19 month old Buff Orpington hen molting for the second time this season? Her feathers don't look healthy?

[vrollo81]

This is her second molt of the season. She already was in short supply of feathers due to an aggressive roster. This time around, her feathers don't look healthy at all. I can't find the word to describe how they look its almost like she's lacking something but I just don't know what it is.

I'm still new to this, this is my flocks first molt. She also feels like she has lost weight. I brought her inside last evening to check her out and when I picked her up, she was significantly lighter than usual. **she's the smallest of the bunch**

We have cold weather (38-30° at night) and I'm worried she doesn't have enough feathers to stay warm. Their feed has been a mix of egg layer pellets and feather fixer pellets.

What can I do? Supplements?

 

[Tookie]

You may want to up their protein to 20%.

 

[vrollo81]

You may want to up their protein to 20%.

Do you have a recommendation for a feed?

 

[Tookie]

Do you have a recommendation for a feed?

What do you have available? Roughly where are you located? You can get any type of grower/starter feed with about 20% and give them it until they finish their molt.

 

[3KillerBs]

I agree with the idea of increasing their protein.

I use an all-flock feed with oystershell on the side for all my birds and don't need to change during molt.

 

[ColtHandorf]

If she appears underweight, have you looked for mites?

 

[vrollo81]

I agree with the idea of increasing their protein.

I use an all-flock feed with oystershell on the side for all my birds and don't need to change during molt.

None of my flock touch the grit or oyster shell that I put out. I do them like I've done my kids, I grind it up along with their egg shells and mix it with whatever I give them. When I give them scrambled eggs, I mix that along with herbs. They LOVE it!! I also give them black soldier fly larva and mealworms.

I will try the all-flock feed and see if that helps.

 

[K0k0shka]

None of my flock touch the grit or oyster shell that I put out. I do them like I've done my kids, I grind it up along with their egg shells and mix it with whatever I give them.

Don't hide things in their feed by grinding. Chickens aren't kids (it's not a good idea for kids either, but that's a whole separate discussion). Things like grit and calcium, they need to be able to tell when they're eating it, and regulate themselves so they don't eat too much. Both grit and calcium have specific purposes in the chicken body and should be eaten only as needed. I assume you meant you grind the oyster shell, not the grit, right? Grit needs to be a certain size to do its job, if it's too fine (like sand) it won't work. And overdosing on calcium can add up over time and damage their kidneys. Some chickens don't like oyster shell, but they tend to like eggshells. Try swapping the oyster shell for eggshell, but don't grind it and add it to the feed, leave it in a separate container, crushed slightly so it's not too big, but don't powderize it. I find that mine refuse to eat the fine particles at the bottom of the bowl once they eat the larger chunks. About the size of a thumbnail works great.

See if you can find Purina Flock Raiser, or a similar type of all purpose feed. Purina's is 20% protein and can be eaten by any age or type of chicken (especially the crumble - even baby chicks can eat that, and it's the same percentage protein as their chick starter), so you don't ever need to switch feeds.

 

[3KillerBs]

None of my flock touch the grit or oyster shell that I put out.

If you're feeding layer than they are probably getting a much as they need that way.

They can be trusted to self-regulate when given calcium free-choice.

They don't need it when molting and not laying.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you're feeding layer than they are probably getting a much as they need that way.

They can be trusted to self-regulate when given calcium free-choice.

They don't need it when molting and not laying.

x2. You're already feeding layer (and "feather fixer," at least the one I'm thinking of, is still a layer feed due to calcium %) so they're possibly already getting all the calcium they need.

A higher protein feed, around 20%, can help with feather growth, and if they're not laying they'd benefit from a lower calcium % as well, around 1%. Both of those can be provided by some all flocks, grower or even starter - don't worry about what the feed is called, look at the nutrition panel.