Chicken wont eat

[Chickenwithnobrim]

Hi guys! I have a chicken with no upper beak named Paddy. I need help getting her to eat, as she has recently decided she hates layer pellets, and will only eat scrambled eggs. She is also going through a pretty rough moult that has affected her mood overall, and shes been spending large chunks of the day snuggling in the coop with my broody silkie. I am hoping it goes back to normal once she is done.
Because eating is difficult for her, I help by feeding her twice a day with my hand so she can get the right angle.
Went from loving pellets and impatiently pecking me for them to being almost disgusted by them. During her moults I always supplement her with scrambled eggs for extra protein, so its a known favourite of hers.
I tried softening up feed and blending it into the eggs before frying, but she could taste it and declined after 3 bites. Then I only slightly mushed the feed when mixing it into the eggs to keep a more yellow colour. She was so excited for eggs as usual until she got close and actually spotted the bits of pellet, before turning around and pointedly walking away.
Im fine with buying eggs for her because neither of my chickens are laying atm, (as weird as buying eggs for a chicken is) but im worried that she isnt receiving the proper nutrients. Id be willing to make my own blend following an online recipe, but she has quite a bit of difficulty eating small dry things smaller than a piece of corn. Does anybody have any advice or have had anything similar happen?
Thanks

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Some of mine aren't too keen on their normal feed during molting.
Egg is fine to give, but you're right, she likely needs more balanced nutrition that she will get from her normal feed.

You can try torpedo feeding, see if that helps. How did she lose her upper beak?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...eeding-what-is-it-and-when-to-use-it.1532744/

 

[Chickenwithnobrim]

Some of mine aren't too keen on their normal feed during molting.
Egg is fine to give, but you're right, she likely needs more balanced nutrition that she will get from her normal feed.

You can try torpedo feeding, see if that helps. How did she lose her upper beak?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...eeding-what-is-it-and-when-to-use-it.1532744/

Thank you, this guide is definitely what ill use if I have to. Unfortunately shes molting in all the spots that make it difficult to hold her still, and I really dont want to break off any feathers. Id be willing to risk it though rather than let her slowly starve.
Im not sure how she lost her beak, I found her a little over a year and a half ago wandering the street starving, so I took her in and with a lot of online resources I learned how to help her out. We call her trash chicken out of love since she loves to rip up plastic stuff in search of food

 

[NatJ]

Have you offered chicken food as a wet mash? (Adding just water, not mixed with egg.)

Have you offered chick starter, rather than layer pellets? If she is molting, she doesn't need the extra calcium in the layer pellets, and she might appreciate the extra protein in the chick starter.

At least temporarily, if egg is the only thing she will eat, I would let her have as much as she wants of it. It's got the right nutrients to grow a baby chick and feed it for the first few days, so it shouldn't be too bad for an adult chicken. I would be more worried if she ate only corn, or only grass, or only mealworms.

@U_Stormcrow if an adult chicken were to eat only scrambled egg, would you expect any specific nutritional deficiencies? I can't immediately think of any, since it's got a good quality protein, a source of energy (fat), and a fairly good set of vitamins and minerals.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Have you offered chicken food as a wet mash? (Adding just water, not mixed with egg.)

Have you offered chick starter, rather than layer pellets? If she is molting, she doesn't need the extra calcium in the layer pellets, and she might appreciate the extra protein in the chick starter.

At least temporarily, if egg is the only thing she will eat, I would let her have as much as she wants of it. It's got the right nutrients to grow a baby chick and feed it for the first few days, so it shouldn't be too bad for an adult chicken. I would be more worried if she ate only corn, or only grass, or only mealworms.

@U_Stormcrow if an adult chicken were to eat only scrambled egg, would you expect any specific nutritional deficiencies? I can't immediately think of any, since it's got a good quality protein, a source of energy (fat), and a fairly good set of vitamins and minerals.

In the short term, no. Longer term yes - but the reason they used to advertise the egg as "the perfect food" is because, by design, it has everything a growing chick needs, and our own needs aren't hugely different. Over time, those differences (and the fat content) begin to add up, however. We did a thread on egg, last year. Its possibly worth a read (if only because answers are scattered throughout, as we did the math).

 

[Chickenwithnobrim]

Have you offered chicken food as a wet mash? (Adding just water, not mixed with egg.)

Have you offered chick starter, rather than layer pellets? If she is molting, she doesn't need the extra calcium in the layer pellets, and she might appreciate the extra protein in the chick starter.

At least temporarily, if egg is the only thing she will eat, I would let her have as much as she wants of it. It's got the right nutrients to grow a baby chick and feed it for the first few days, so it shouldn't be too bad for an adult chicken. I would be more worried if she ate only corn, or only grass, or only mealworms.

@U_Stormcrow if an adult chicken were to eat only scrambled egg, would you expect any specific nutritional deficiencies? I can't immediately think of any, since it's got a good quality protein, a source of energy (fat), and a fairly good set of vitamins and minerals.

Thank you, this makes me feel a lot better about her egg consumption. I managed to talk her into eating some pellet egg mix if i had a yellow piece facing up this morning so thats a plus. I know their attitudes can severely change during a molt so Im hoping she mellows out once its over

 

[Chickenwithnobrim]

Update!! It was mainly her harsh molt. Shes coming out the other end of it now and is back to her perky food obsessed self