I have six hens altogether and one has been catching my attention lately. She molted about a month ago and all of her feathers have grown back and she looks fine. However, shortly after molting she began to walk very strangely. She does not bend her toes at all and sometimes lifts her foot up into her body when she takes a step. Then, a few days ago I had noticed that her comb had became much paler than all the other hens. Now today, I go out to feed them and I see that the skin around her beak and eyes are growing paler as well, it almost looks white. She is still moving around normally with the other chickens. She eats and drinks regularly and her stool appears to be normal as well. I haven't seemed to be able to find much info on the internet that matches her symptoms. Does anyone have any advice on what is wrong with her and what I can do to help her? I have attached some pictures of her. The first image shows her on the left next to another molting hen. The video quality is bad but the end gives you an idea of how she is walking.
Hmm paleness makes me think- possible blood loss going on somewhere. Have you checked them for mites and or lice? Look under the wings, spread them out and look in the feathers and also in the neck feathers. Here is a link to an article about fowl mites. http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/2/2-5/Laura_E_John.html I use sevin dust to treat my flocks but there are other things you can try as the article suggests. Another possiblility is she could be egg bound. Has she started to lay yet? Does she lay regularly?
