Hen losing weight and feathers

[Ash.M]

We have a 9 month old hen that has been losing a substantial number of feathers and has lost a fair amount of weight in the last week or two. She was still acting normal, except less interested in food yesterday and even moreso today. She now seems more lethargic than normal and her crop is definitely not full. Her poop looks normal, although there less than normal. We checked her vent and looked for any obvious wounds. No other visible symptoms. She hasn't laid an egg for about a month. I'm concerned about how thin she is and how cold it is going to be tonight. Any recommendations? Should I bring her inside for the night? Please help! Thank you.

 

[Ash.M]

We have a 9 month old hen that has been losing a substantial number of feathers and has lost a fair amount of weight in the last week or two. She was still acting normal, except less interested in food yesterday and even moreso today. She now seems more lethargic than normal and her crop is definitely not full. Her poop looks normal, although there less than normal. We checked her vent and looked for any obvious wounds. No other visible symptoms. She hasn't laid an egg for about a month. I'm concerned about how thin she is and how cold it is going to be tonight. Any recommendations? Should I bring her inside for the night? Please help! Thank you.

For the record it is going to get down to about 7 degrees Fahrenheit here tonight . We just weighed her and she is down another ounce (now she weighs about 3 pounds). Would love some input as this is my first time with chickens.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

Dude.... she is 'molting'.

 

[Ash.M]

Dude.... she is 'molting'.

For some reason I thought they didn't molt until they were over a year old. Sorry! Hopefully this won't be a full scale molt since the weather is getting so cold.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

For some reason I thought they didn't molt until they were over a year old. Sorry! Hopefully this won't be a full scale molt since the weather is getting so cold.

Well..... my cockerel was only about 8-9 months when he first had his molt, although he really didn't lose that many feathers as I presume yours did, to the point where you are concern. But rest assure, I'm almost positive your hen is only molting, and when they do molt, they will look thin....... probably more thin then she really is in your eyes since you've probably never had a chicken going through molt before and is overly concern.

 

[Ash.M]

Well..... my cockerel was only about 8-9 months when he first had his molt, although he really didn't lose that many feathers as I presume yours did, to the point where you are concern. But rest assure, I'm almost positive your hen is only molting, and when they do molt, they will look thin....... probably more thin then she really is in your eyes since you've probably never had a chicken going through molt before and is overly concern.

Ok. Thanks very much for your help.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

We have a 9 month old hen that has been losing a substantial number of feathers and has lost a fair amount of weight in the last week or two. She was still acting normal, except less interested in food yesterday and even moreso today. She now seems more lethargic than normal and her crop is definitely not full. Her poop looks normal, although there less than normal. We checked her vent and looked for any obvious wounds. No other visible symptoms. She hasn't laid an egg for about a month. I'm concerned about how thin she is and how cold it is going to be tonight. Any recommendations? Should I bring her inside for the night? Please help! Thank you.

For the record it is going to get down to about 7 degrees Fahrenheit here tonight . We just weighed her and she is down another ounce (now she weighs about 3 pounds). Would love some input as this is my first time with chickens.

What breed is she?
Can you post some photos of her?
Poop photos too

It's good that you have been weighing her so you can track that.

Molt can be hard on them and they can feel droopy, but your mention of being more lethargic than normal is a cause for concern.
Check her crop first thing in the morning before she eats/drinks.
Think about a few things, with her molting, sometimes they do not eat well or they are being kept from food/water - have you seen any of that?

For my droopy molters, I usually pull them aside for a little bit each day, offer them a wet mash made of their food, direct dose them with poultry vitamins and maybe see if they will eat a little egg. Sometimes they are picky.
Handling them can be painful, so I wouldn't chase her, maybe take her from the roost first thing (good time to do all this - you can check that crop too).
Look her over for lice and mites while your at it.

Adult molting is usually around 16-18 months of age. I've had 1 molt this year at 9 months and I've seen where others are seeing this too. First time for me, but it's not that uncommon.
I would also continue to weigh her.

Keep us posted, look forward to your photos.

 

[Ash.M]

What breed is she?
Can you post some photos of her?
Poop photos too

It's good that you have been weighing her so you can track that.

Molt can be hard on them and they can feel droopy, but your mention of being more lethargic than normal is a cause for concern.
Check her crop first thing in the morning before she eats/drinks.
Think about a few things, with her molting, sometimes they do not eat well or they are being kept from food/water - have you seen any of that?

For my droopy molters, I usually pull them aside for a little bit each day, offer them a wet mash made of their food, direct dose them with poultry vitamins and maybe see if they will eat a little egg. Sometimes they are picky.
Handling them can be painful, so I wouldn't chase her, maybe take her from the roost first thing (good time to do all this - you can check that crop too).
Look her over for lice and mites while your at it.

Adult molting is usually around 16-18 months of age. I've had 1 molt this year at 9 months and I've seen where others are seeing this too. First time for me, but it's not that uncommon.
I would also continue to weigh her.

Keep us posted, look forward to your photos.

I took a few quick photos this morning before I had to leave for work. All the feathers in the coop are from the last 24 hours (relatively). She was out of the coop hanging out with the other chickens this morning. Still seems pretty disinterested in good. I got her to eat a couple of mealworms but she wasn't interested in the scrambled egg. we gave her a ml of nutridrench last night. And looked for mites or lice. I didn't see anything but it's possible I missed it.
She is not being bullied at least that I have witnessed. She's the top of the pecking order and the younger pullet (not laying yet) is still somewhat afraid of her. She will walk up to the food with the other chickens but then walks away without eating anything (or she will take a bite or two)

I'm not sure what breed she is. We were told she was a Barred Rock but she lays green eggs and she is pretty small. She's probably a mix of some sort.

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[Ash.M]

I took a few quick photos this morning before I had to leave for work. All the feathers in the coop are from the last 24 hours (relatively). She was out of the coop hanging out with the other chickens this morning. Still seems pretty disinterested in good. I got her to eat a couple of mealworms but she wasn't interested in the scrambled egg. we gave her a ml of nutridrench last night. And looked for mites or lice. I didn't see anything but it's possible I missed it.
She is not being bullied at least that I have witnessed. She's the top of the pecking order and the younger pullet (not laying yet) is still somewhat afraid of her. She will walk up to the food with the other chickens but then walks away without eating anything (or she will take a bite or two)

I'm not sure what breed she is. We were told she was a Barred Rock but she lays green eggs and she is pretty small. She's probably a mix of some sort.

Thanks for the help everyone!

** Disinterested in "food" not "good". Oops typo!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

We were told she was a Barred Rock but she lays green eggs and she is pretty small. She's probably a mix of some sort.

I do see pin feathers coming in on her neck, so yes, she's molting.

Not a Barred Plymouth Rock I would say she is a Crested..... errr...LOL I don't know since you say she lays green eggs. A Crested Cream Legbar (I thinks) lays blue eggs so wouldn't be that, but she is a Crested "something"

I would give the Nutri-Drench for a couple of days. They just don't feel really well at all during molt. At least most of mine don't.
I use 20% feed year round, but if you're giving something like layer feed that is around 16-17% give her a boost of protein (egg, tuna, meat, quality canned cat/dog food). A little will do her. They also seem to crave dark green veggies (kale, brocolli), a little of something like that every few days may entice her too.

My 9 month girl was fairly droopy for weeks and standoffish. If you notice her really isolating herself (sleeping in the corner, laying down a lot) then check her even more.

I would still give her a crop check every other day or so just to make sure they crop is empty in the morning.

She's a lovely girl