Extreme feather loss and comb injury

erin175

In the Brooder
6 Years
Mar 17, 2013
22
0
24
So I think I know what's going on with my 1 yr old Buff Orp, but just confirming!

I believe she's molting, along with the rest of the flock, (egg production has been waaaay down for several months) but this particular hen looks much worse than any other in the flock. She doesn't have bare patches, but is definitely losing/missing a lot more feathers than anybody else. I noticed last night her comb had been injured in some way, a chunk was missing & she had a slight bloody spot on her head. I've separated her from the flock with food & water.

I'm assuming she's just having a rougher molt than most and is getting picked on, hence the comb injury? The entire flock was wormed about a month ago (wazine) and I don't really notice any other symptoms in that hen or any other hen in the flock.

Thanks!
 
Hi there & welcome!
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I think you are probably right in thinking she's having a hard molt and you've done the right thing by separating her temporarily. Orps' are a laid back breed and often get picked on from what I've read. Cover the comb wound with some blukote to make it less attractive to the others. If it's feasible, you could have her mix with the others under your supervision to make sure the picking doesn't get out of hand. This way, if she stays partially integrated during the daytime, the task of re-integrating at the end won't be half as bad.
Last year my girls had a really hard molt and I didn't get any eggs for ages........
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