Hard molt, mites, respiratory illness, or something else?

[Lyris]

I noticed today that Dolly isn't her usual bratty self. She's usually very bratty and bossy to my other hens. Today she's hiding behind the other hens and not very hungry/active. Thinking back, she's also been on a lower perch at night by herself where she can hide. I suspect she's been feeling off for a while and I just haven't noticed since this flock has a myriad of other issues. I have a recurring respiratory illness within my flock but she's not currently showing signs of it. I did have mites, but they're under control as far as I've seen. I just treated them for leg mites a week and a half ago. None of my other chickens are going bald like her. I think her booty might be a bit red, but she doesn't want me to touch her. (Which is unusual) I don't really want to handle her too much since she's a literal porcupine at the second anyway. She's also shaking her head a bit and a few hens have liquid poops.

Ideas on what I can do to help her? Is she just having a rough molt?

I'm currently at work so this is a super quick post but I wanted to make sure I can help her as soon as I get off work. If I have to stop at the store on my way home I will. She's a barred rock mix that I rescued from the canyon this spring so I don't know her full history/age.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would repeat the leg mite treatment twice a week if you are using oil on the legs. Molting is hard on them, and they act off, lethargic, and separate themselves. It can be a common time for a reproductive disorder or other illness to rear it’s head. Make sure that she is eating some scrambled egg and offer a little mushy wet chicken feed made fresh often. What do her droppings look like? Is her crop emptying by early morning?

 

[Debbie292d]

She's also shaking her head a bit

I'd try Permethrin powder too for the regular mites and in the coop.

Leg mites are different, so I'd treat for both.

 

[OkieBirdFam]

Hello! Sorry to hear you and your bird are dealing with this! First thing I would do is isolate her as soon as you get the chance. If she shows signs of weakness/illness, the flock may pick on her, which may be contributing to her self isolating and the redness on her behind (possibly from pecking if not just due to molt). Plus if she does "have something," it is less likely to spread to the rest of the flock. I feel like many ailments can share symptoms so it can be hard to pinpoint. You can always start by making sure her nutritional needs are being fully met - plenty of protein to help her through the molt and well as Vitamin A, E, and Calcium. Isolating also ensures she gets a chance to eat and drink without competing with other birds. I'm not a vet but the head tilt thing almost seems like wry neck. It's treatable and usually caused by nutritional or neurological reasons. I haven't dealt with respiratory issues in my flock (yet), so I'm uncertain if that could be a symptom. Lastly, you might check her crop - that can be the source of a lot of issues for chickens and maybe she's having a hard time "getting things down" thus her response with her head. Hope this helps!

 

[HolyHenHouse]

I usually use diatomaceous earth and sprinkle it all around the coop... it works really well as a preventative also!

 

[Lyris]

I would repeat the leg mite treatment twice a week if you are using oil on the legs. Molting is hard on them, and they act off, lethargic, and separate themselves. It can be a common time for a reproductive disorder or other illness to rear it’s head. Make sure that she is eating some scrambled egg and offer a little mushy wet chicken feed made fresh often. What do her droppings look like? Is her crop emptying by early morning?

My work gives me the leftover sausages, bacon, and eggs every day for my chickens. Today I sat with her and coaxed her into eating a bit more than usual. I haven't checked her crop, but I'll check in the morning. She feels like she's lost a bit of weight. Her recent poop was tiny, but looked normal. It's the only one I've been able to confirm for sure is hers. I do have liquid poops in the chickens but that seems to be clearing up on its own. I think it's something they ate from the yard.

Hello! Sorry to hear you and your bird are dealing with this! First thing I would do is isolate her as soon as you get the chance. If she shows signs of weakness/illness, the flock may pick on her, which may be contributing to her self isolating and the redness on her behind (possibly from pecking if not just due to molt). Plus if she does "have something," it is less likely to spread to the rest of the flock. I feel like many ailments can share symptoms so it can be hard to pinpoint. You can always start by making sure her nutritional needs are being fully met - plenty of protein to help her through the molt and well as Vitamin A, E, and Calcium. Isolating also ensures she gets a chance to eat and drink without competing with other birds. I'm not a vet but the head tilt thing almost seems like wry neck. It's treatable and usually caused by nutritional or neurological reasons. I haven't dealt with respiratory issues in my flock (yet), so I'm uncertain if that could be a symptom. Lastly, you might check her crop - that can be the source of a lot of issues for chickens and maybe she's having a hard time "getting things down" thus her response with her head. Hope this helps!

Unfortunately whatever she has, my whole flock likely has by now. I have a "closed" flock and won't be adding any more chickens until mine dies off specifically because they're likely contagious. Wry neck is one thing I haven't fought with yet. I doubt she's getting enough vitamins currently. She's not very hungry. My other chickens are leaving her alone luckily. She's a horrid bully and even my rooster leaves her and "her" flock alone. Her flock very much treats her as the rooster and has glued themselves to her side. (She has three other hens she roams with)

I'd try Permethrin powder too for the regular mites and in the coop.

Leg mites are different, so I'd treat for both.

I usually use diatomaceous earth and sprinkle it all around the coop... it works really well as a preventative also!

Mites are the bane of my existence. This summer I've for sure had two kinds of mites, and I suspect they also had lice. We tried literally everything under the sun to get rid of them. Finally Ivermectin worked despite it not working before. I have to be careful of Permethrin because I have cats. My chickens like to make new dirt holes in the yard that my cats also think is good dirt for rolling in. It makes treating them pesky.

I'm about to go treat them for leg mites again so I'll bring in Dolly and put her in her Dollhouse for the night so I can check her in the morning. I have the next two days off so she's my priority. I'm praying it's just a really hard molt and not serious. Her wings are nearly bald and all her long feathers have fallen off. My yard looks like a warzone from all her feather loss. I'm genuinely surprised that she has any left.

 

[Debbie292d]

I usually use diatomaceous earth and sprinkle it all around the coop... it works really well as a preventative also!

I can attest to the preventative. Just be sure it's the food grade, not pool grade, although I've heard some use pool grade on a coop cleanout, ant infestations, or when a large area of yard or run is infested with something.

 

[Debbie292d]

My work gives me the leftover sausages, bacon, and eggs

When they're underweight or you're struggling to get them to eat, a little of the bacon might be fine, and of course the eggs, but I'd think the sausage would give them the runs. Both of those meats are high in fat and wouldn't be good to feed healthy birds very much of that. I wish I was your neighbor though as that sounds yummy! I love bacon and eggs!

 

[Lyris]

I was able to handle her a bit last night. She's congested again from the respiratory illness. She responds well to VetRX on her comb so I gave her a bit to see if that helped, which it seems to. She did a large poop on me after I brought her inside and confirmed that her poops are normal, so that's good. She's definitely lost weight, but I'm thinking some of that is feather mass. Her entire butt area is completely bald, the entire backside of her neck is bald, and her wings are completely bald aside from five feathers. She's lost all of her flight feathers except one. I was outside with them most of the day today and discovered that her head shaking is the worst dawn/dusk when the weather is cooler. Right now we're averaging 50f-60f during the day... Is it possible she's cold? She didn't do well at all inside and both her and her flock were incredibly stressed out so I sent her back outside when I could monitor. She spent almost the entire day in direct sunlight and in a sheltered area. The poor girl is terrified of everything. She typically bullies my cats and chases them around the yard. Today she saw my cat and went to go hide behind her BFF. Her BFF hasn't left her side all day and the rest of her flock isn't more than a few feet away.
Is it possible her heavy molt is making the respiratory illness flare up? And how likely is it that she's cold? If she is, can I do anything for her? She's covered in what feels like hundreds of pin feathers which I know are itchy or else I'd be tempted to put a sweater on her.

When they're underweight or you're struggling to get them to eat, a little of the bacon might be fine, and of course the eggs, but I'd think the sausage would give them the runs. Both of those meats are high in fat and wouldn't be good to feed healthy birds very much of that. I wish I was your neighbor though as that sounds yummy! I love bacon and eggs!

I didn't think of the fat! It's good protein for them and they like to fight over it. They get a lot of leftovers from my workplace to prevent food waste. Dolly didn't eat much sausage and prefers the eggs/biscuits which is probably good. Pippi inhales sausage at an alarming rate. She had to get a bath from her goopy butt a few days ago. Maybe I'll restrict their "garbage" intake and see if that helps. I think the eggs are made with milk and egg flavoring which would add to the fat content.

 

[Debbie292d]

I was able to handle her a bit last night. She's congested again from the respiratory illness. She responds well to VetRX on her comb so I gave her a bit to see if that helped, which it seems to. She did a large poop on me after I brought her inside and confirmed that her poops are normal, so that's good. She's definitely lost weight, but I'm thinking some of that is feather mass. Her entire butt area is completely bald, the entire backside of her neck is bald, and her wings are completely bald aside from five feathers. She's lost all of her flight feathers except one. I was outside with them most of the day today and discovered that her head shaking is the worst dawn/dusk when the weather is cooler. Right now we're averaging 50f-60f during the day... Is it possible she's cold? She didn't do well at all inside and both her and her flock were incredibly stressed out so I sent her back outside when I could monitor. She spent almost the entire day in direct sunlight and in a sheltered area. The poor girl is terrified of everything. She typically bullies my cats and chases them around the yard. Today she saw my cat and went to go hide behind her BFF. Her BFF hasn't left her side all day and the rest of her flock isn't more than a few feet away.
Is it possible her heavy molt is making the respiratory illness flare up? And how likely is it that she's cold? If she is, can I do anything for her? She's covered in what feels like hundreds of pin feathers which I know are itchy or else I'd be tempted to put a sweater on her.


I didn't think of the fat! It's good protein for them and they like to fight over it. They get a lot of leftovers from my workplace to prevent food waste. Dolly didn't eat much sausage and prefers the eggs/biscuits which is probably good. Pippi inhales sausage at an alarming rate. She had to get a bath from her goopy butt a few days ago. Maybe I'll restrict their "garbage" intake and see if that helps. I think the eggs are made with milk and egg flavoring which would add to the fat content.

I would stop giving them any of that for two days and see if you can see a difference. I believe you will!

Molting chickens often times ARE cold because they've lost so many of their feathers. Do you have any heat plates or anything like that you could put where she roosts?

Yes, molting can trigger illnesses because they are in a weakened state. I'd put poultry vitamins in their water every other day. We use Poultry Cell or Nutri-Drench.