ADVICE Request - one of 7 chickens is sick

[peepcluck]

I noticed some were taking turns molting so when Dixie starting molting I did not pay too much attention. Then I noticed she was so much worse than all the others, she lost her rear, chest, tail...lots of feathers. I read, seems this is normal for some chickens. Yesterday I happened to be outside and I notice she was walking with weak, swaying legs...and lost weight. I brought her in for 24 hours, let he back out this morning but she looks bad.

I went ahead and powered the coop with livestock bug kill yesterday, put in in cracks and under laying nests but not sure it is mites...

she lost many feathers
waterey stools
not laying for some time
sways and looks weak

 

[Eggcessive]

Feed her some choppd egg, put some poultry vitamins in her water, and keep her warm. You usually can see evidence of mites or lice on the skin around the vent if they are there. Molting is tough on some hens, but she could have an underlying illness or worms. Valbazen or SafeGuard are good wormers. Make sure that she is fed a good 16-20% chicken feed, and they will sometimes eat better if you put some in a bowl with water. It is normal to stop laying while molting, but she also could be getting her fewthers pecked out if you are not seeing pin feathers coming in. Permethrin or Secin dust are good for mites and lice, and the bird must be dusted every 7 days to get any eggs hatching until they are gone. Hens a couple of years old can suffer from internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis, making them much weaker. It is common, but hopefully, she will start perking up soon.