Healing feathers SOS!

[Will You Rescue Me]

Hey! So I recently rescued a hen that was in pretty bad shape, no open wounds anymore, but she’s missing most of her feathers, either completely plucked or stripped of everything but the quill. I’ve been over all of the remedies I know personally from having rescued other birds in the past. But I’m always looking to learn as much as I can. If you have a remedy for how to get this poor girl back to tip top shape shoot me a reply down below! She was only one of two silkies that’d been mistakenly put in with a flock of maybe 200+ chickens of a much larger breed than her and the other silkie, one made it out with just a few scrapes and a few missing feathers on her head. But this poor girl looks like she’d been put through the wringer. She looks half the size of the other rescued hens her same age and it’s not a nice feeling when you handle her. She is just as active now as the others, no longer scared of her own shadow or the other hens. But her friend has a protective habit of sitting on her to keep her warm. I’ve provided them with a warm coop at night, LOTS of bedding and I’m spoiling them rotten with all the good produce and feeds possible to get them back to where they need to be. I have a no kill policy personally when it comes to things that won’t affect their quality of life too greatly. Feathers regrow, she’ll probably never get them all back, but she could definitely regrow enough to give her a good life. No missing toes, eyes or wings. Just feathers. All open cuts have been cleaned and healed and the small group is incredibly gentle natured so there hasn’t been one instance of violence, abuse or aggression in the mini flock whatsoever. All advice welcome, also let me know if you have any suggestions for the best produces to use when bathing and conditioning silkies. I’ve gotten a few recommendations, but the happier and healthier they are the better!

 

[MysteryChicken]

Providing pictures of the bird in question is always helpful.

All feathers will grow back after molt. Molting season has started early. Mine started last month.

 

[Will You Rescue Me]

Providing pictures of the bird in question is always helpful.

All feathers will grow back after molt. Molting season has started early. Mine started last month.

Yes, I am hoping for her to have a really good molt soon!

 

[SourRoses]

How wonderful that you rescued her from someone's terrible management practices!
And how sweet that her friend is cuddling her to keep her warm.

Feather growth requires protein, a lot of it, so the best thing you can do to help her is manage her protein intake.
That might mean feeding less veggies and scraps, as everything they eat that has less protein has a diluting effect on their overall diet.
A grower feed with 20% protein or more is a good start. Most layer feeds only have 16%.
In the past when I really wanted to boost protein, I bought a bag of 30% Gamebird Grower crumble and mixed it with an equal amount of the 20% Chick Grower. That yielded a mix of 25%, and the chickens thought it was delicious.

 

[Will You Rescue Me]

How wonderful that you rescued her from someone's terrible management practices!
And how sweet that her friend is cuddling her to keep her warm.

Feather growth requires protein, a lot of it, so the best thing you can do to help her is manage her protein intake.
That might mean feeding less veggies and scraps, as everything they eat that has less protein has a diluting effect on their overall diet.
A grower feed with 20% protein or more is a good start. Most layer feeds only have 16%.
In the past when I really wanted to boost protein, I bought a bag of 30% Gamebird Grower crumble and mixed it with an equal amount of the 20% Chick Grower. That yielded a mix of 25%, and the chickens thought it was delicious.

I’ve heard really good things about black soldier fly larvae. I could grab a big bag and add that to the mix? I didn’t know that about the grower feed, I know that chickens that are made to bulk up really quickly for the purpose of providing meat can have a lot of health issues. I chose the layer feed for that purpose as I was told they are of laying age. I will definitely take this into consideration! Thanks so much!

 

[MysteryChicken]

I’ve heard really good things about black soldier fly larvae. I could grab a big bag and add that to the mix? I didn’t know that about the grower feed, I know that chickens that are made to bulk up really quickly for the purpose of providing meat can have a lot of health issues. I chose the layer feed for that purpose as I was told they are of laying age. I will definitely take this into consideration! Thanks so much!

20% Flock Raiser/All Flock, or chick Starter/Grower feed is perfectly fine for any chicken breed. Just be sure to offer oyster shells on the side in a separate feeder as a source of calcium for the ladies.

Meatbirds are different.

 

[Will You Rescue Me]

20% Flock Raiser/All Flock, or chick Starter/Grower feed is perfectly fine for any chicken breed. Just be sure to offer oyster shells on the side in a separate feeder as a source of calcium for the ladies.

Meatbirds are different.

Absolutely! I have a massive bag of oyster shells for them. They still get their usual dry feed, but I do love to add treats and fresher foods to their diets as I find that fresh it often best, the dry food is more balanced and offers everything they need so it’ll always be a staple in their diet, but I like to make sure they get a healthy amount of variation for the best results in happiness, healthiness and recuperation. Thank you for the information! This site is genuinely awesome, I’m loving the amount of knowledge I’m getting from real life people and their experiences.

 

[SourRoses]

I’ve heard really good things about black soldier fly larvae. I could grab a big bag and add that to the mix? I didn’t know that about the grower feed, I know that chickens that are made to bulk up really quickly for the purpose of providing meat can have a lot of health issues. I chose the layer feed for that purpose as I was told they are of laying age. I will definitely take this into consideration! Thanks so much!

The problem with black soldier fly larvae / mealworms is the percentage of fat is very high.
When hens eat too much fat, it builds up around their internal organs and can affect their reproductive systems. Fatty liver disease and egg binding are common consequences, and can be deadly.

Commercial feeds are balanced to be low fat, usually less than 4%. As such, they are the safer way to get good protein into your girls.
As MysteryChicken mentioned, the Oyster Shell on the side is sufficient, if hens aren't laying they won't get too much (it can be damaging long term), and they will usually seek out what they need. I say usually because I have an older hen from a farm that fed layer and she won't seek enough, I have to provide a separate feeder of layer just for her. But most hens have good instincts

Protein has a safe upper threshold in chickens of 26%.
So if people mention CornishX meatbirds as a reason to keep protein low, don't worry about it for other types of chicken. It's really the fat that warrants concern.