Hard molt - Walking to the left and squatting while walking

[fatimahb89]

Please advise me on what to do. I have an 18 month old dark brahma who is going through an extremely hard molt. Although she appears to be eating normally, she will walk with her head down and usually in a circle motion. In addition, she squats a lot while walking. I give them New Country Organic no corn no soy grain layer feed and oyster shell free choice. They ( I have 5 total) get a handful of treats towards dusk (mealworms, sunflower seeds, or scratch grains). Yesterday I gave her a little bit scrambled eggs and put some Poultry Cell in one of the waterers. They have a 5 x 10 sand covered run that is enclosed and free range in the 100 sq ft fenced yard. She has lost almost all her chest, neck, under body, shoulder, and vent area feathers in 7 days. Last egg from her was Nov. 3 (19 days ago)
I made a video clip to share, however I am unable to attach it to this post.

 

[theoldchick]

Chickens experiencing a hard molt will do the 'crouch' as they move around. All those pinfeathers must be painful to them. Since she is eating well and maintaining her weight, I would watch her closely and make sure her flock mates don't pick on her.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Brahma are heavy bodied birds.. and feathers are made from 90% protein and it's amino acids.. I personally would consider switching to a higher protein feed.

Since doing so.. my birds have softer molts.

Poultry cell.. separates out and mixes poorly in water in MY experience.. for which reason I prefer mixing into a little wet mash or treat.

Videos must be uploaded to a third party host then attached here as a link.

Scratch grains diminish protein and other nutrients. Meal worms and sunflower seeds are high fat.

 

[fatimahb89]

Brahma are heavy bodied birds.. and feathers are made from 90% protein and it's amino acids.. I personally would consider switching to a higher protein feed.

Since doing so.. my birds have softer molts.

Poultry cell.. separates out and mixes poorly in water in MY experience.. for which reason I prefer mixing into a little wet mash or treat.

Videos must be uploaded to a third party host then attached here as a link.

Sunflower seed and scratch grains diminish protein and other nutrients. Mealworms are high fat.

I am expecting a 20% protein feed to come later today. I was going to add that to the feed that they’re eating. Is it all right for all of them to eat it?
I will try, mixing some poultry cell into some mash.
Thank you for the information about how to upload videos to this site.
Do you suggest not giving any of the above treats?

 

[fatimahb89]

Chickens experiencing a hard molt will do the 'crouch' as they move around. All those pinfeathers must be painful to them. Since she is eating well and maintaining her weight, I would watch her closely and make sure her flock mates don't pick on her.

Thank you for your reply! I will continue to watch her to make sure she is not getting picked on. She is such a gentle giant it is difficult to see her like this.

 

[theoldchick]

Thank you for your reply! I will continue to watch her to make sure she is not getting picked on. She is such a gentle giant it is difficult to see her like this.

I have an old Sapphire Gem that is experiencing a hard molt. She's moving around like I do when I have a sunburn....ouchy!