Help!!

[Alybaba]

so, I wasn’t sure wear to put this but oh well. So I have a fairly young hen. She is about 10 weeks old? Recently she started losing some of her nice big feathers. She has also been clicking her beak and leaving it open. I live in Florida so idk if from the heat or what. I’m just so nervous. She is a special needs chicken as she is 85% blind and I love her to death and would hate for anything to happen to her! I’m a first time chicken owner too and I’m so nervous. And she is currently staying outside as she has outgrown a brooder.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a fairly young hen. She is about 10 weeks old? Recently she started losing some of her nice big feathers. She has also been clicking her beak and leaving it open. I live in Florida so idk if from the heat or what.

She is a special needs chicken as she is 85% blind

What breed is she?
Do you have photos you would like to share?
At 10wks old she is likely going through a juvenile mini-molt - losing those feathers so new ones can come in. Do you see new feather growth?

I would make sure she is eating her chick starter well. Check to make sure her crop is emptying overnight.

 

[guineapeeps]

I’m no chicken expert....I’ve mostly just had guineafowl, but since no one else has responded, I thought I’d at least try. Much of Florida is pretty hot right now, so leaving her beak open may be because it’s hot and she is panting. Does she have plenty of fresh water available? Maybe you could bring her inside and have her cool down to see if that part improves. As for the feather loss, at 10 weeks, it seems like she’d be pretty young to molt, but I guess it might be a remote possibility...hopefully someone more familiar with chickens will respond. She may also have mites, lice, or something that is irritating her skin and feathers. Any other details you can give on her behavior and symptoms (poop details, changes in eating or behavior, etc) would help to try and identify what going on as well. Here is a BYC article on mites and lice FYI. Good luck and let us know how she is doing!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ow-to-protect-your-chickens-from-mites.47721/

 

[guineapeeps]

What breed is she?
Do you have photos you would like to share?
At 10wks old she is likely going through a juvenile mini-molt - losing those feathers so new ones can come in. Do you see new feather growth?

I would make sure she is eating her chick starter well. Check to make sure her crop is emptying overnight.

Thanks for responding! I didn’t see your post until after I posted. Glad a knowledgeable chicken person responded! I was just throwing out guesses with my guinea limited ideas!

 

[Willowspirit]

Is she your only chicken? if not, is she the only one who is acting this way? She's very cute.