Chicken Acting Strange

[cala]

One of my hens is losing feathers by the hand full, she keeps squating down around the coop and keeping her head down like she is afraid to be around other chickens... what the heck is wrong?? : (

 

[bobbieschicks]

One of my hens is losing feathers by the hand full, she keeps squating down around the coop and keeping her head down like she is afraid to be around other chickens... what the heck is wrong?? : (

She sounds like she isn't feeling well. Have you posted this question on the emergency thread? You may want to go there and post the symptoms & a pic of your girl if possible. Loosing feathers can be molting or it could be mites/lice. If she's lowest on the pecking order she may just not like being picked on all the time.

Here's about a month ago what my molting Snow White looked like - you can see the feather quills stick out like porcupine quills. She stayed in the coop while she molted and is just now getting back with everyone else. Even though her feathers are coming back in now I can tell by her comb she is still not feeling great.

 

[cala]

I have not posted to emergency yet.. I wanted to see what response I got first..
My lil girl is actually at the top of the pecking order, she is a Rhode Island Red; she does look just like your Snow White but worse.
We have only had them 1.5 years and none of them EVER lost any feathers like this before, so it kinda freaked me out. We can see skin on her back side,is this normal to molt right before winter, and will she freeze to death.
How long do they "molt" and how do they usually act during this process?

 

[bobbieschicks]

I have not posted to emergency yet.. I wanted to see what response I got first..
My lil girl is actually at the top of the pecking order, she is a Rhode Island Red; she does look just like your Snow White but worse.
We have only had them 1.5 years and none of them EVER lost any feathers like this before, so it kinda freaked me out. We can see skin on her back side,is this normal to molt right before winter, and will she freeze to death.
How long do they "molt" and how do they usually act during this process?

My Snow White is top of the pecking order too and she looked pretty bad at one point - between rooster damage on her back which made her bare and a severe molting -she looked like she was ready for the roaster pan. She is feathering back out and starting to gain weight again. It took her about a month to go through the worst of it. Each chicken is different so some girls take longer then others to bounce back. If she's not laying it's because she's putting all her energy into putting more feathers on before winter. Lots of chickens heavy molt before winter and they are still fine. Check out this thread for even worse examples https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...st-chicken-molt-pictures-fall-winter-2012/310#

If your girl is not doing well you can increase her protein by feeding her scrambled eggs and canned tuna cat food - maybe include a little garlic powder on them to help deworm her if she's having worm issues. Also put some Unpastuerized Apple Cider Vinegar with the Mother in it in her water (can get from Walmart now) around a tablespoon per gallon will help reduce worm loads and aid in digestion for her. You can do fermented feed for her as well to help her get more nutrients in her and aid in digestion - check out the FF thread here https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds and most of all don't worry about her!