Help! Pale comb and wattles, lethargy, weight loss, feathers falling out

[wynter]

My 2 year old Rhode Island Red hen has been acting off for about a week, and her symptoms have been getting steadily worse.

Her comb and wattles are very pale and droppy, almost yellow. She is normally an energizer bunny but now she just sits around, her wings all droopy. She is still showing interest in treats and is eating a little, but she has lost a lot of weight. Her feathers are coming out very easily when I pick her up, but not from one spot in particular. I found diarrhea that might be hers, I have three other hens so I'm not entirely sure. The other 3 are healthy and acting normal. She is breathing normally and her eyes are clear. Her crop is not full. Are these symptoms of an egg bound hen?

I have added Rooster Booster electrolyte mix to their water, wormed them, and given her some VetRX, but I haven't seen any improvement.

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[rebrascora]

She could just be moulting. Some hens take it harder than others. Some hardly seem to notice and others seem to get quite depressed about it. Give her lots of high protein treats like scrambled egg and a pouch of cat food every now and then and meat scraps etc or if they are on layer, you could change them to a higher protein grower to help her grow new feathers. Don't handle her too much as it is uncomfortable for them when their pin feathers are coming in. If your other hens are the same age, they will probably start losing their feathers now too. It is normally around the 18months of age mark but your hens would have been just ramping up their laying for spring then, so it's not surprising that they are starting their moult earlier in the season rather than autumn time. Hopefully they may be back into lay before the days get too short and perhaps lay right through winter for you.
I hope I am right and it is nothing more serious.

Regards

Barbara

 

[wynter]

She could just be moulting. Some hens take it harder than others. Some hardly seem to notice and others seem to get quite depressed about it. Give her lots of high protein treats like scrambled egg and a pouch of cat food every now and then and meat scraps etc or if they are on layer, you could change them to a higher protein grower to help her grow new feathers. Don't handle her too much as it is uncomfortable for them when their pin feathers are coming in. If your other hens are the same age, they will probably start losing their feathers now too. It is normally around the 18months of age mark but your hens would have been just ramping up their laying for spring then, so it's not surprising that they are starting their moult earlier in the season rather than autumn time. Hopefully they may be back into lay before the days get too short and perhaps lay right through winter for you.
I hope I am right and it is nothing more serious.

Regards

Barbara

Thank you for your reply!

I do hope she's just molting. She is much older than 18 months though, she is almost two and a half.

I also believe they already molted, last fall. These are my first chickens, so I don't know a whole lot. Can they molt more than once? This early in the year?

I've never had any health problem with my girls, so I'm very confused!

 

[sbhkma]

Have you ever dewormed them?
Is she drinking?
What's the temps like there?
Have you looked for external parasites?
Any changes in the flock or surroundings?
I have one right now that's molting and she's not eating much. Drinking plenty, but not eating. So she gets crop-fed twice a day with a high protein high fat baby bird feed. If your gal molted last fall but it was a light molt, it's possible she's finishing it off now. Glad you noticed the weight loss...that can drop SO fast!

 

[wynter]

Have you ever dewormed them?
Is she drinking?
What's the temps like there?
Have you looked for external parasites?
Any changes in the flock or surroundings?
I have one right now that's molting and she's not eating much. Drinking plenty, but not eating. So she gets crop-fed twice a day with a high protein high fat baby bird feed. If your gal molted last fall but it was a light molt, it's possible she's finishing it off now. Glad you noticed the weight loss...that can drop SO fast!

They never had a problem so they were never dewormed previously. I dewormed them yesterday to see if that wold help, and she is not improving.

I've seen her drinking, but I don't know if she is drinking enough.

It gets quite hot here (southern California) but they have plenty of shade. They were fine last summer but had more hiding areas. Could this be caused by the heat? And how can I help her if it is?

No external parasites.

We moved to a new house 3 months ago but they have been fine. Flock is the same 4 hens. I added scratch grains to their diet about 2 weeks ago because they don't have rocks and sand here to eat like they had at the old house. Same layer mash they have always gotten.

Thanks!

 

[Husker Chick]

I was also going to suggest molting. I thought I had a very sick hen, and that's what it ended up being. My hen also molted at a very odd time and way earlier than I was told they would. I finally consulted a poultry educator at the university, I was so worried. I was told they don't necessarily molt at regular intervals but on their own schedule.

 

[sbhkma]

They never had a problem so they were never dewormed previously. I dewormed them yesterday to see if that wold help, and she is not improving.

I've seen her drinking, but I don't know if she is drinking enough.

It gets quite hot here (southern California) but they have plenty of shade. They were fine last summer but had more hiding areas. Could this be caused by the heat? And how can I help her if it is?

No external parasites.

We moved to a new house 3 months ago but they have been fine. Flock is the same 4 hens. I added scratch grains to their diet about 2 weeks ago because they don't have rocks and sand here to eat like they had at the old house. Same layer mash they have always gotten.

Thanks!

Scratch grains are not the same as grit and actually if it's hot, it's not a good idea. They take longer to digest and during that process they create internal heat (especially corn). Get some chicken grit and put it in a bowl. They'll eat what they need. For treats, I like to give them cold green seedless grapes or watermelon. It cools them off and gives them some liquid and sugar too.
What did you deworm with?
How does her crop feel? If you're worried about her drinking enough you can try crop feeding her or you can make ice-muffins. I have a silicone muffin tray and put water with probiotics in it, freeze them and put one in each waterer, then replace during the day. It keeps the water cooler which encourages more drinking in my experience. And yeah..heat stress has been a struggle here in Texas too. The young pullets are fine. The older hens are miserable.

 

[rebrascora]

They will moult each year any time from now until winter. I have one that has been losing feathers for a couple of weeks now and the run looks like someone had a pillow fight but a couple more are starting to look raggy. Most will probably moult August/Sept/Nov and of course usually they will stop laying for a few months. Mine normally crank things back into gear just before Christmas but they are starting to moult a little earlier this year so perhaps they will start back up sooner. It depends on a number of factors as to when they will moult.

 

[wynter]

Scratch grains are not the same as grit and actually if it's hot, it's not a good idea. They take longer to digest and during that process they create internal heat (especially corn). Get some chicken grit and put it in a bowl. They'll eat what they need. For treats, I like to give them cold green seedless grapes or watermelon. It cools them off and gives them some liquid and sugar too.
What did you deworm with?
How does her crop feel? If you're worried about her drinking enough you can try crop feeding her or you can make ice-muffins. I have a silicone muffin tray and put water with probiotics in it, freeze them and put one in each waterer, then replace during the day. It keeps the water cooler which encourages more drinking in my experience. And yeah..heat stress has been a struggle here in Texas too. The young pullets are fine. The older hens are miserable.

Okay, I'll definitely stop with the scratch for a bit then. Thank you for the advice! I'll do what I can to keep them cool.

I used fenbendazole by recommendation of another chicken lady.

Her crop is empty, maybe emptier than usual.

She just looks so miserable, she's all droopy and sad. She's my happiest chicken so that's what first tipped me off, haha.

 

[wynter]

They will moult each year any time from now until winter. I have one that has been losing feathers for a couple of weeks now and the run looks like someone had a pillow fight but a couple more are starting to look raggy. Most will probably moult August/Sept/Nov and of course usually they will stop laying for a few months. Mine normally crank things back into gear just before Christmas but they are starting to moult a little earlier this year so perhaps they will start back up sooner. It depends on a number of factors as to when they will moult.

Hmm, thats interesting! Her feathers come out when I touch her but I don't notice patches missing like I did when they molted last year.