Chicken Drastically Losing Feathers

[Ben B]

Hi All,

I am new to keeping chickens, got three hens about 6 months ago and have really been enjoying it so far. One of my girls, Reba, recently went through a brooding period. Because it did not influence the other two to follow, and she seemed to be eating and acting normally, I let it run it’s course. Once she got back to normal, her feathers starting falling off very quickly. She seems normal aside from that, but she looks really rough and is starting to worry me a lot. I don’t know if it is from malnutrition or maybe mites or molting. I want to help her, but she won’t let me hold her to check for parasites. She’s eating fine, and both the other hens are normal. Any insight to help me help her would be very much appreciated.

 

[chickensrock12]

She is most likely molting, but she could have mites or a parasite. What I do is get some diatomaceous earth from the feed store. D.E. is a powder which kills the mites and parasites. What you would do for all of them just in case they get. Would be to mix it in with there food and put it on the ground of their run. Also on the roost in the coop.

 

[Kathy Golla]

Hi Ben B,
Broody hens molt after they return to normal. I have one doing it right now. I dont know how old this hen is, but most hens dont molt until after the are 1.5 years old, but there are probably exceptions to that.

Whether its about broodiness or just when this hen molts, its the season for hens to molt, which is losing their summer feathers to grow winter feathers in. Some hens will molt quite badly and furiously, you have to go through a few through broody cycles, seasons and winters to see how each chicken molts.

You can do a little research on it.
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/12/molting-what-is-it-and-how-to-help.html

Im new to chicken keeping too (almost a year into it). Here's what I have learned about molting

• Will take on average 8 weeks from start to finish for hen to grow her new feathers in
• You can feed a molting hen extra protein to get the feathers to grow in more quickly. We do scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs, canned cat food, canned mackerel. Mealworms have a high protein content. If a whole flock is molting, some people switch to a feed with a higher protein content for that 8 weeks.
• If you only have one hen molting, we usually pull the particular hen out of the pen or out of sight of the other hens and feed her protein. You have to be careful though cause you can feed a hen too much protein.
• What I have encountered is sometimes a hen feels very dumpy during this period, and not eat very well and their comb can get a bit pale. They can also be cranky.
• When a hens pinfeathers (new feathers) are growing in, try to avoid picking the hen up (doesnt sound like thats a problem!) as its very uncomfortable for them.
• Hens' egg production can decrease drastically or stop when they are molting.

Dont be afraid to ask questions, this site and the experts have been a lifesaver to me! There's no dumb questions, and there's a lot to learn!

 

[Ben B]

Hi Ben B,
Broody hens molt after they return to normal. I have one doing it right now. I dont know how old this hen is, but most hens dont molt until after the are 1.5 years old, but there are probably exceptions to that.

Whether its about broodiness or just when this hen molts, its the season for hens to molt, which is losing their summer feathers to grow winter feathers in. Some hens will molt quite badly and furiously, you have to go through a few through broody cycles, seasons and winters to see how each chicken molts.

You can do a little research on it.
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/12/molting-what-is-it-and-how-to-help.html

Im new to chicken keeping too (almost a year into it). Here's what I have learned about molting

• Will take on average 8 weeks from start to finish for hen to grow her new feathers in
• You can feed a molting hen extra protein to get the feathers to grow in more quickly. We do scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs, canned cat food, canned mackerel. Mealworms have a high protein content. If a whole flock is molting, some people switch to a feed with a higher protein content for that 8 weeks.
• If you only have one hen molting, we usually pull the particular hen out of the pen or out of sight of the other hens and feed her protein. You have to be careful though cause you can feed a hen too much protein.
• What I have encountered is sometimes a hen feels very dumpy during this period, and not eat very well and their comb can get a bit pale. They can also be cranky.
• When a hens pinfeathers (new feathers) are growing in, try to avoid picking the hen up (doesnt sound like thats a problem!) as its very uncomfortable for them.
• Hens' egg production can decrease drastically or stop when they are molting.

Dont be afraid to ask questions, this site and the experts have been a lifesaver to me! There's no dumb questions, and there's a lot to learn!

Thanks so much Kathy. I am already seeing that this site is going to be extremely helpful. She is about the same age as the hen you mentioned, about 1.5 years, so that sounds about right. Somehow in the articles I’d read previously, it wasn’t mentioned that they molt after brooding.

 

[Ben B]

She is most likely molting, but she could have mites or a parasite. What I do is get some diatomaceous earth from the feed store. D.E. is a powder which kills the mites and parasites. What you would do for all of them just in case they get. Would be to mix it in with there food and put it on the ground of their run. Also on the roost in the coop.

Thanks so much. I already spread diatomaceous earth in the coop and run for parasite prevention, but was hesitant to put it in their feed, because I was not sure exactly what the ratio to put would be.

 

[Kathy Golla]

It's not a good idea to put DE in their food.its silica which shouldn't be ingested.

You can do some research about it.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2016/12/the-cut-dry-truth-about-diatomaceous.html?m=1

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/please-read-about-diatomaceous-earth.1209641/#post-19232505

 

[BarredRockMom]

Yep, that's quite the moult she's going through. It's amazing how it will affect them all differently. If you can supplement her protein intake with (live or freeze dried) mealworms, crickets, cooked fish like tilapia, canned fish like jack mackerel (packed in water but rinsed to remove excess salt in the packing water) or even meat scraps (not fat, good meat. Raw is ok), that will help get them/her through a moult. (See if anyone hunts in your area. If they do & they process their own game, they may be willing to give you scraps suitable for this purpose.)

And at the risk if sounding crazy (crazier), if it gets cold before she's re-feathered, you could always look into a chicken sweater for her.
I know, insert eye roll, I know. But it's areal thing. And those English rescued Battery Hens ROCK their sweaters! You should see 'em. Cute as all get out & what a nice thing to do for an animal in need.

 

[twilightgecko]

hard molt.. i had a couple that just dropped feathers and looked like some crazy buzzards.. funny how some molt slow and others .. looks like a chicken bomb went off in the coop..

 

[BarredRockMom]

Lol, that's what my coop & chicken yard look like during a moult...a chicken explosion for sure! A moult never slows down their begging for treats, I am happy to report! Frankly, nothing stops that!

 

[Ben B]

Yeah, putting DE in their food seemed kind of strange to me from the beginning, which is why I hadn’t tried it yet, but I’ll definitely up her protein. Luckily, being in Tennessee, the fall and winter are pretty mild, and their coop is sheilded from heavy wind. Thanks everyone for all the feedback. Reba and I are endlessly grateful.