HELP My molting hen is acting weird...UPDATE RACCOON!

[foxypoproxy]

I have a 6+ year old silver laced wyandotte who started a very rapid molt.
When i woke up i thought she has been attacked by something i looked her over for injuries or mites and even bathed her, she was fine.
Its been a few weeks now and she acting weird.
I know hens get fatigued and don't eat as much but i want to check up and ask you guys to make sure nothing else is going on with her.

Obviously she has stopped laying like a normal molting hen.
But now, when i try to let her out, she goes to the door all excited, then last minute turns around and goes back into her house

i leave the door open for her but she refuses to come out (even though shes normally ecstatic about her morning outings!
I know this may not sound like a big deal, but it is a big deal to me because i know her very well and this is too bizarre

.

Its not only thats, but she will sit in her caged in area looking out and make little very high pitched but kinda quiet (almost like mumbling) crying noises.
Shes almost acting like...well...depressed...i am stumped.
I even took her fecal to the vet and they tested it and she has no worms or parasites.
I fed her scrambled eggs because i thought maybe she was weak from the fast molt and needed protein?
But nope...she only ate alittle then went back into her house

We have been having hawk issues lately but she does this even when hawks arn't around.

I don't know if her weird behavior has to do with her meeting are polish cockerel who just came out of quarantine.
They free ranged together and were fine.
She did puff up and give him the stink eye every time he got too close but hes really chill and such a scaredy cat he just runs off and hide behind my leg.
The day after they free ranged together, she refused to come out and free range with him again.
So, i thought it was because he was their. So i let her out without the polish cockerel and once again she refused to come out...

Its been the same old story every day.
Her making the weird sounds, not eating as much as normal, her refusing to come out of her coop...

What is going on

 

[emilysteng]

I'm sorry I don't have any helpful information for you about this but am interested in what you find out. My hen has been having trouble the last couple months with Egg yolk peritonitis or possibly an ovarian tumor and last weekend started what is apparently a molt also. I'm not sure if it is related to her illness or just a normal molt. It seems like other hens around are also molting ( she is a wild chicken) so I'm hoping it's a normal molt.

Anyways, she is acting differently too. Seems a little tired and eating a bit less than she was. Hoping that is molt related and not illness related because before this she was really perking up and starting to eat more.

 

[chkn]

I wish I could think of the words to describe the sounds a hen makes when she doesn't feel well or who feels picked on. It's kind of a nervous little one two scratchy cluck. Check her abdomen and see if it feels normal. Check the breast bone. The next thing is, winter is coming on soon and you'll need to feather her up. If she has been wormed previously, I'd do some Ivermectin pour on and powder her with Sevin. I'd also treat for scaley leg mites. I think you're going to have to find things she likes to eat to fatten her up, like some soft bread, cat food, bits of grapes, left over potato salad, what have you. A hen like this in my experience usually just picks at her regular food and is probably a little skinny in the breast. You could give her a little antibiotic to see if it makes her feel any better. I think I'd go ahead and worm her with some Valbazen even though the fecal test came out negative.

 

[ChooksChick]

I think your hen may be broody, from the sounds of things. Do a little bit of research and see if it doesn't sound right. You may want to get some fertile eggs for her.

 

[donnavee]

Mine always act a bit weird when they molt, I have one EE that starts walking backwards and keeps to herself during the molt. Most of them just eat less and seem to prefer being alone, but I have never had any that wanted to stay in the coop all day. Maybe you cold add some vitamins or electrolytes to her water.

 

[chkn]

Quote:
++ Good suggestion there.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Is she being picked on when she goes outside? i notice when chickens molt, they get a bit moody. It may be because the other chickens will tend to pick on them, since they look so odd. Right now i have a silkie hen in a very hard molt housed with 10 other little silkies. She spends most of her time inside the coop up on the ramp.

Then, i had two standard-size chickens in a pen together. One went into a molt and the other started pulling feathers out of her whenever she turned her back. i had to pull the feather-picking hen out since now she has a taste for feathers, especially new soft ones with some blood on the end.

 

[foxypoproxy]

Quote:
Thank you for the advice!
I've been worried because she doesn't seem sick but shes acting alot weirder then normal so it has to be something

.
I haven't wormed her at all (which is why i suspected parasites or worms in the first place).
I have DE but i know there is skepticism about whether it kills/prevents worms.
Do you have any links of where/what ivermectin pour on to buy (same thing for valbazen) should i use both? or just one?
Ive looked at buying wormers before but i only have wazine and i find it hard to find ivermec or val.
Is their a certain type of valbazen/ivermec that i shouldn't give chickens?

When i bathed her recently her breast bone seemed fine and even though she lost alot of feathers she doesn't look like she did.
But her not eating makes me nervous. Also i'm getting some new chickens soon (all from the same place).
I'm quarentining them before they are introduced, but is there anything i should worry about when they do meet her?

Ive tryed giving her everything from yogurt, berries, eggs, etc.
She eats alittle but she doesn't scoff it down like she normally does.

 

[foxypoproxy]

Quote:
Shes not exposed to any other chickens right now.
I only have 2 chickens right now due to some chicken deaths, so i was getting her some more chickens so she wouldn't be lonely.
They are coming next week and i will have to quarantine them.
My polish cockerel is coming out of quarantine and we are trying to finish up their new coop so i can move them in together.
Right now they are separated.
But now i'm worried if "shes" sick and could infect the others after they come out of quarantine

.

I'm hoping its just her molting making her act strange because it was a very fast and heavy molt.

 

[foxypoproxy]

Quote:
no shes not acting broody