Could this just be Molting behavior??

[awagnon]

I have a hen who has been acting 'off' the last couple of days. She hasn't laid in a bout 3 days, where as before she was an every day layer. She did take a couple of days off during mid winter, but I can usually count on her to give me an egg every day.

She has been acting a bit slow for about 2 days. Not her usual chipper self. Her crop was hard and definitely had food in it this morning, but not overly extended. I didn't get out to check on her today until around 930 am so she'd had time to eat. It is much harder though than her buddies crops today. I have seen her eat and drink this morning while I was out there also. I added some Poultry Cell to their one waterer & she drank some of that. She went after the clump of grass I threw to her buddies before I could hold her back too. I checked to see if she had a bad odor from her beak and she doesn't.

She does hang out with the flock although from time to time she lets them leave her sight for a bit which isn't normal for her. She's the top hen and likes to be in control of EVERYTHING. lol Yesterday I found her alone in the coop on the floor in the pine shavings under the poop board. She was awake, just still and puffed up a bit. When she's outside, she will stand still, puff up/shake and kind of lower her tail for a short period of time, but when she starts moving around again she puts it back upright. She doesn't stay still for long and does still move around more than not. She just has never had the bouts of stillness.

I checked her for lice/mites & she's clear. Her vent isn't abnormal or inflamed though she does have some urates on her butt feathers but not a lot. There is no bad smell from her. I felt her belly and it doesn't feel like a water balloon. I didn't feel any hard mass like she could be egg bound either. She's not standing upright when she walks so if she was I would think she'd be doing that by now or worse.

Her eyes are bright and clear, comb color is normal, feet/legs look good. She does vocalize, and will assert herself to the subordinates. I did notice she has a few feathers falling off here and there, but nothing extreme. She does send some flying when she does her shaking/ruffling/puffing up.

Nobody is picking on her. Could she just be going through a slight molt? None of my girls really seemed to go through a very bad molt and the oldest are 2 years old now. She did just get over a slight case of Bumblefoot a month ago. She is walking fine on that foot now.

Is there anything I should do preventative wise in case she's got something else going on? I am going to put her and her bestie in the old coop tonight that doesn't have the auto door on it. That way I can get out there and check her in the morning before she eats because I have to open the door on that one.

 

[Lillith37]

Maybe a moult or maybe she’s having trouble with a soft shelled egg. Does she have the pin feathers at her neck? You can give her a human calcium citrate pill daily for the next week or so to see if that helps her. Check her crop first thing in the morning too. Crop issues can indicate underlying problems especially reproductive issues.

Is she still going into the nest boxes and acting like she wants to lay?

 

[awagnon]

No she's not going to the next boxes. She did lay an egg 3 days ago. Not sure why you are asking about pin feathers on her neck. The feathers I see shedding are on her chest a little below her crop area and some fluffy feathers on her tummy and rear end. This isn't A LOT of feathers, just see one or two each day working loose as she ruffles up and moves around.

I have her in a separate coop with her bestie tonight that doesn't have an auto door. That will give me time to get out there to check her crop before she can get to the feeder. She was more active this evening with her flock mates, but her crop was still more noticeable than the other girls'.

If her crop is empty in the morning, I will begin the calcium to see if she starts laying again. If she's just molting, she probably won't lay til it's over tho. She went through a light molt in the Fall so I didn't expect this again so soon.

 

[Lillith37]

No she's not going to the next boxes. She did lay an egg 3 days ago. Not sure why you are asking about pin feathers on her neck. The feathers I see shedding are on her chest a little below her crop area and some fluffy feathers on her tummy and rear end. This isn't A LOT of feathers, just see one or two each day working loose as she ruffles up and moves around.

I have her in a separate coop with her bestie tonight that doesn't have an auto door. That will give me time to get out there to check her crop before she can get to the feeder. She was more active this evening with her flock mates, but her crop was still more noticeable than the other girls'.

If her crop is empty in the morning, I will begin the calcium to see if she starts laying again. If she's just molting, she probably won't lay til it's over tho. She went through a light molt in the Fall so I didn't expect this again so soon.

Asked about the neck feathers cos moulting starts at the neck.

Losing feathers around crop/underbelly area to me either says stress plucking or something like lice or mites. I know you said you checked, but they can be hard to spot. Some mites also don’t live on the bird, they live in the coop and come out at night to feed. Especially if it’s starting to warm up, red mites can be an issue. Does she have any dry or red patches of skin around where she is losing the feathers or below her vent?

 

[awagnon]

Oh, I see. My oldest girls are a little over 2 and have never lost any neck feathers since they were fully feathered as chicks. I have seen some body feathers and wing/tail feathers shed here and there around the time they should have had their first molt, but NO missing neck feathers on any of the girls. Is that weird?? Could a 2 year old chicken not experience a molt? All the lost feathers on them from last year seemed to have grown back in as well. The feathers I am seeing her shed are just like one or two here and there and not every day do I see them fall off her. She doesn't have any patches of missing feathers. If I didn't see one fly off her on on the ground, I wouldn't even know she was dropping them. That is why I was wondering if she's starting a molt. I am out there several times throughout the day as I check on them in the winter time and work around the yard in warmer weather.

To answer your question, no. She doesn't have any red patches on her skin or around her vent. No patches of missing feathers around her vent either. None of the other 5 girls are losing any feathers at the moment so if it was mites/lice wouldn't they all be losing them? No one is picking/preening/scratching more than normal. I have some liquid Pyrethrin so I am not against treating for mites as a precaution, but I really don't think it that. Her skin looks healthy with nothing around the feather shafts or any skin irritation.

I checked her crop this morning. It is smaller, but not completely empty. She seemed very alert and more than ready to get out of her coop despite her bestie being in there with her. What is left in her crop is still hard. Going to start the coconut oil/massage treatment this morning and keep her isolated in the run. She's gonna be so PO'd at that situation cause she's the most social of the bunch and is always in the middle of everyone. lol Getting the miconazole today in case this turns sour. There is NO odor at all coming from her mouth, so I am thinking that is a good thing.

I pray that this coconut oil gets things going and this doesn't progress to something worse.

 

[Lillith37]

You might not see them go bald at the neck but if you part the feathers you should see new feathers growing in their shafts. I think sometimes they don’t moult the first or second year and then settle into a routine, I’ve read something along those lines but not sure.

You can do the coconut oil and massage therapy without necessarily isolating her. If she’s happier outside I would leave her outside. Definitely get on the calcium too. Also still check the coop for mites.

What do you feed them usually? And what breed are they?

If you have a thermometer you can lube it up and check her temperature by her vent. A healthy chicken body temperature should be between 40.6° and 41.7°C.

 

[awagnon]

You might not see them go bald at the neck but if you part the feathers you should see new feathers growing in their shafts. I think sometimes they don’t moult the first or second year and then settle into a routine, I’ve read something along those lines but not sure.

You can do the coconut oil and massage therapy without necessarily isolating her. If she’s happier outside I would leave her outside. Definitely get on the calcium too. Also still check the coop for mites.

What do you feed them usually? And what breed are they?

If you have a thermometer you can lube it up and check her temperature by her vent. A healthy chicken body temperature should be between 40.6° and 41.7°C.

When I checked her for lice/mites yesterday, I did inspect her neck along with under wings, rear end, tummy, and back. I didn't see ANY evidence of either so I really don't think it's parasites. I also didn't see any pin feathers or emerging new feathers around her neck. I also checked the coop to see if I could squish any mites around the roost area and that area came up negative too.

I was out there most of the day today cleaning out the straw I had down too keep them out of the mud over the winter. After administering the coconut oil and massage, she seemed back to her normal self although I still felt the firm crop.

She didn't act lethargic, wasn't ruffled/disheveled, didn't drop any feathers today and was very social and active. If I hadn't notice this crop issue I wouldn't know anything was amiss with her. She even play tug of war with an earthworm that was under a rock in the run that I moved, with one of her buddies. lol

I gave her a second dose of the coconut oil mixed with crushed calcium citrate tablet this evening. She happily scarfed that down and let me massage her crop a few minutes. Although it was full from her scratching around the run and her eating her feed, it felt noticeably softer and pliable. I really didn't feel any hardness to it at all. I am going to keep giving her the oil/calcium for a couple more days and see how she does. Got the Monistat on hand now in case this turns 'sour'. lol I just let her stay with the rest of the flock in the same coop tonight to keep her stress down since no one is picking on her.

Needless to say she was a bit miffed at having to wait for me to come out and open her door this morning. lol She's used to the auto door that opens when the sun comes up. I think she got over it when I gave her the coconut oil "treat".

She is a red sex-link. RIR crossed with who knows what. I feed them Naturewise 18% layer feed. Occasional BS fly larvae and over winter they would get some scratch from time to time. I have a couple of 'playpens' I put them in so they can get out and get some grass and hunt for critters during nicer days, but they weren't out in them today.

 

[Lillith37]

When I checked her for lice/mites yesterday, I did inspect her neck along with under wings, rear end, tummy, and back. I didn't see ANY evidence of either so I really don't think it's parasites. I also didn't see any pin feathers or emerging new feathers around her neck. I also checked the coop to see if I could squish any mites around the roost area and that area came up negative too.

I was out there most of the day today cleaning out the straw I had down too keep them out of the mud over the winter. After administering the coconut oil and massage, she seemed back to her normal self although I still felt the firm crop.

She didn't act lethargic, wasn't ruffled/disheveled, didn't drop any feathers today and was very social and active. If I hadn't notice this crop issue I wouldn't know anything was amiss with her. She even play tug of war with an earthworm that was under a rock in the run that I moved, with one of her buddies. lol

I gave her a second dose of the coconut oil mixed with crushed calcium citrate tablet this evening. She happily scarfed that down and let me massage her crop a few minutes. Although it was full from her scratching around the run and her eating her feed, it felt noticeably softer and pliable. I really didn't feel any hardness to it at all. I am going to keep giving her the oil/calcium for a couple more days and see how she does. Got the Monistat on hand now in case this turns 'sour'. lol I just let her stay with the rest of the flock in the same coop tonight to keep her stress down since no one is picking on her.

Needless to say she was a bit miffed at having to wait for me to come out and open her door this morning. lol She's used to the auto door that opens when the sun comes up. I think she got over it when I gave her the coconut oil "treat".

She is a red sex-link. RIR crossed with who knows what. I feed them Naturewise 18% layer feed. Occasional BS fly larvae and over winter they would get some scratch from time to time. I have a couple of 'playpens' I put them in so they can get out and get some grass and hunt for critters during nicer days, but they weren't out in them today.

Sounds like you are doing all the right things. Unfortunately with those breeds around 2 years old they become increasingly susceptible to reproductive disease. The feathers might be a red herring but going off the lay whilst still displaying nesting behaviours and the slow crop point to reproductive disease.

I would keep up the calcium for longer than a few days. Do 600mg citrate daily for at least a week or two and keep checking her crop and abdomen. Hopefully it resolves itself. My production rescues who have troubles with laying, I put them on the suprelorin implant. It induces moult and pauses their laying for 3+months. Often the break is enough for their bodies to sort out any issues and then layer resume laying like normal.

 

[awagnon]

Sounds like you are doing all the right things. Unfortunately with those breeds around 2 years old they become increasingly susceptible to reproductive disease. The feathers might be a red herring but going off the lay whilst still displaying nesting behaviours and the slow crop point to reproductive disease.

I would keep up the calcium for longer than a few days. Do 600mg citrate daily for at least a week or two and keep checking her crop and abdomen. Hopefully it resolves itself. My production rescues who have troubles with laying, I put them on the suprelorin implant. It induces moult and pauses their laying for 3+months. Often the break is enough for their bodies to sort out any issues and then layer resume laying like normal.

Thanks, that's my plan on the calcium even tho the feed is supposed to be for layers, maybe she's not getting enough. She's NOT displaying any nesting behavior right now, but did lay an egg about 3 days ago, that is why I first suspected a beginning molt.

Yeah, when I researched her 'breed' I didn't expect her to live a very long life, sadly.

 

[Lillith37]

Thanks, that's my plan on the calcium even tho the feed is supposed to be for layers, maybe she's not getting enough. She's NOT displaying any nesting behavior right now, but did lay an egg about 3 days ago, that is why I first suspected a beginning molt.

Yeah, when I researched her 'breed' I didn't expect her to live a very long life, sadly.

Oh okay sorry I might be confusing your thread with someone else's. That's good though, hopefully things even out for her and it's just a hiccup. I think generally what's recommended is a high protein feed that doesn't necessarily have to be layer, and then give oyster shell flakes on the side for them to self-regulate their calcium intake. Pelleted or crumble food is better as well because then they don't selectively feed.