Balding chicken in freezing weather

[Navahogirl]

Good morning, I have a 5 year old cuckoo maran that has lost an incredible amount of feathers, only one out of 5 chickens I have. It is absolutely freezing outside. I went through this last year with a different breed & last year my vet said to change her diet, not to bring her inside house - I kept her outside & I found her the next morning frozen to death.
I brought this her inside ( her name is Tink) yesterday, bathed her, dried her well & put into large cage in my home. Set up food that includes sardines & meal worms, probiotic water. Not sure what to do, she is eating & drinking, left message with vet. My question is, what would you do??

 

[DLA]

I've you've checked and there's no mites or lice issue then I'd say it looks like she's going thru a late molt. I've got one that is doing the same thing too but mine looks even worse than yours. Poor girl! The warmer weather we had the last month or so threw her off. I've already got the plastic up to keep out wind, snow, wet on the run, added extra bedding and she can go in the coop and she's a rhode island red so pretty hardy. I've just been keeping an eye on her and she seems ok. She snuggles in with her sisters at night and is doing fine far. I've increased protein for her too to help her regrow her feathers. She loves being special and getting treats the others don't.
If you have concerns and have lost one before to a similar situation I understand why you brought her in. Just be aware it's going to be more difficult to get her back outside since she won't be acclimatized to the cold. She might get lonely so give her a mirror and maybe a stuffed toy. You'll have to reintegrate her with the flock. When she's done molting you can't just put her back out as that would be really hard on her. You'll have to harden her off to the cold, maybe an unheated but sheltered garage to start.

 

[DLA]

Additionally, you can tell it's molt if you look where she's lost feathers you should see the new feathers starting to come in within a few days, they're pretty sensitive when regrowing feathers so I wouldn't handle her much as it can be painful if you touch the stubble. One other thing that can trigger late molt, it's not just temperature but day length/light so if you were providing extra lighting over winter to keep them laying then stopped that could also throw them into a late molt. Hope everything goes ok with your girl.

 

[Navahogirl]

How much ventilation does your coop have?
How many birds?
I've have hens with less feathering than your hen survive temps in the teens without issue.

Yes it is ventilated, 5 birds 1 Rooster

 

[DobieLover]

Yes it is ventilated, 5 birds 1 Rooster

How much? Can you post some pictures?

 

[Navahogirl]

I've you've checked and there's no mites or lice issue then I'd say it looks like she's going thru a late molt. I've got one that is doing the same thing too but mine looks even worse than yours. Poor girl! The warmer weather we had the last month or so threw her off. I've already got the plastic up to keep out wind, snow, wet on the run, added extra bedding and she can go in the coop and she's a rhode island red so pretty hardy. I've just been keeping an eye on her and she seems ok. She snuggles in with her sisters at night and is doing fine far. I've increased protein for her too to help her regrow her feathers. She loves being special and getting treats the others don't.
If you have concerns and have lost one before to a similar situation I understand why you brought her in. Just be aware it's going to be more difficult to get her back outside since she won't be acclimatized to the cold. She might get lonely so give her a mirror and maybe a stuffed toy. You'll have to reintegrate her with the flock. When she's done molting you can't just put her back out as that would be really hard on her. You'll have to harden her off to the cold, maybe an unheated but sheltered garage to start.

I spoke with my poultry vet, she actually said I did the right thing by bringing her inside. I have her in a large puppy pen with large flake pine shavings. I will keep her in until she grows feathers. She is in my living room, I will most definitely put a mirror in and a toy.

 

[Navahogirl]

How much? Can you post some pictures?

 

[Navahogirl]

$34.99 from Amazon- this is what I raised my chickens in

 

[Navahogirl]

Additionally, you can tell it's molt if you look where she's lost feathers you should see the new feathers starting to come in within a few days, they're pretty sensitive when regrowing feathers so I wouldn't handle her much as it can be painful if you touch the stubble. One other thing that can trigger late molt, it's not just temperature but day length/light so if you were providing extra lighting over winter to keep them laying then stopped that could also throw them into a late molt. Hope everything goes ok with your girl.

 

[Navahogirl]

Yes, definitely a late molt, we had crazy temps here, first warm then freezing. I do not handle her at all as I know it is painful for them. I do not provide extra light in coop. Thank you