2 year old hen never molted, lays soft shells

[sakerobot]

One of our hens has been occasionally laying incomplete or soft shelled eggs for a couple months. Today we finally confirmed that it's the hen we've been suspecting.

She's one of our Barred Rocks that were hatched in May 2023. The other hens of her age have all gone through molting.

We know she hasn't molted for two reasons: her head is still bald from last year, while the other two with such haircuts have grown theirs back. She also has short feathers on one wing - from being clipped due to getting to roost in a hemlock tree in the fall of 23.

The soft shelled eggs are not consistent, sometimes the eggs have hard shells, sometimes only the tip of the egg is soft:



We found an extra large egg that had a double yolk the other week which might be hers too:
She was one of the few hens who kept laying eggs daily in the winter.

Could stress be a factor? She lost her rooster and a fellow BR hen to a hawk in January, by which point everyone else had molted or was going through a molt. They're fully netted now, so hawks aren't a problem. We also have a few young roosters, the offspring of the brave father.

She has also always been a very weird chicken, who is known for making a very unusual loud cackling noise that sounds like a forest witch. I don't know if her personality could play any role in her not molting correctly.

Is there a way to encourage her to molt? It's in the 70s here during the day, and the days are long and sunny.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If the head feathers never grew back in than I would suspect some other bird is plucking her. I see the lose of head feathers when hens want in a nest and another hen doesn't want to leave so they peck and pluck the head.

Some can molt within you even knowing. Generally better layers molt harder, and poor layers molt slowly. The molt is driven by decreasing daylight. You can force a molt, but I wouldn't recommend it as it can be stressful.

 

[StinkyAcres]

What is their diet, including treats, supplements, and how often they are given?

Any signs of respiratory illness (sneezing, wheezing, gaping) or swelling of the joints?

I would get some Calcium Citrate+D3 tablets from Walmart and give her one tablet daily for a week or so and see if that helps at all.

 

[sakerobot]

What is their diet, including treats, supplements, and how often they are given?

Any signs of respiratory illness (sneezing, wheezing, gaping) or swelling of the joints?

I would get some Calcium Citrate+D3 tablets from Walmart and give her one tablet daily for a week or so and see if that helps at all.

They are all on grower/ finisher with oyster shell access, shells are also added to scratch grain. Scratch is given a couple times a day. Kitchen compost materials are given every couple days, and they have about 200sqft of fenced forest area to look for bugs in. The other 13 adult hens are all laying eggs normally, and our 13 week old pullets and cockerels are all healthy.

No wheezing or sneezing, nothing at all is abnormal about her aside from her usual personality. She does seem to have resumed her old habit of loudly vocalizing, something that she had calmed down on when the rooster was around.

We have some calcium nitrate tablets and will give her a try. I'm also wondering if anyone has experienced something similar due to chicken stress.

 

[sakerobot]

If the head feathers never grew back in than I would suspect some other bird is plucking her. I see the lose of head feathers when hens want in a nest and another hen doesn't want to leave so they peck and pluck the head.

Some can molt within you even knowing. Generally better layers molt harder, and poor layers molt slowly. The molt is driven by decreasing daylight. You can force a molt, but I wouldn't recommend it as it can be stressful.

We haven't seen anyone pecking on her head since last year, she usually commands a distance around half of 1.5ft irrespective of other chickens authority. The picking behavior (of which she was originally the most guilty, actually earning the title "Bitch Chicken") seemed to have stopped during the rooster phase and their discipline has been much better since. But the other definite sign that she hasn't molted is her clipped wing, we haven't had to do that since 2022. Her other feathers also don't look super aesthetic.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

We haven't seen anyone pecking on her head since last year, she usually commands a distance around half of 1.5ft irrespective of other chickens authority. The picking behavior (of which she was originally the most guilty, actually earning the title "Bitch Chicken") seemed to have stopped during the rooster phase and their discipline has been much better since. But the other definite sign that she hasn't molted is her clipped wing, we haven't had to do that since 2022. Her other feathers also don't look super aesthetic.

Hopefully she molt this coming fall for you. Do you use extra lighting?

 

[sakerobot]

Hopefully she molt this coming fall for you. Do you use extra lighting?

No, we never use extra lighting.

We are about to double their yard size, if the rain ever stops. That should at least bring some more happiness to the flock.

 

[Just2chickens]

"I'm also wondering if anyone has experienced something similar due to chicken stress."

I have a hen, a green egger with a cream legbar mum, so she has the personality of a leghorn, so realy easily stressed out.. She´s about the same age as yours, and hasn´t molted also, and she´s laying softshelled eggs also, and she screams a lot too because of her ´angst´...
I don´t know if it´s stress (lot´s of out of the normal routine going on) or the early signs of a reproductive issue.. Giving her extra calcium, adding oregano en a little Greek yogurt for immune-boosting.. and hope for the best...

 

[LaFleche]

Could stress be a factor? She lost her rooster and a fellow BR hen to a hawk in January,

Yes, stress could be a factor that can throw her out of balance and start it.

We also have a few young roosters

Adding to the stress. How many of them for how many hens?
I would keep just one or two and choose the ones the hens like best.

She was one of the few hens who kept laying eggs daily in the winter

So she must be exhausted by now with all her calcium deposits depleted.

Scratch is given a couple times a day.

She might just eat the scratch and skip the complete pellets which leaves her with severe nutritional deficiencies and not able to molt.

I would start by deworming her thoroughly and stopping the scratch. Then adding some poultry vitamins to their water and feeding her a daily calcium citrate +vitamin D3 for at least 10 consecutive days.

You can also add some animal protein to her diet like natural greek yoghurt.