Hen not well. Sitting on ground all day.

[webmistress32]

Mine is also unchanged. As soon as the weather gets warmer, probably this weekend, I will stop treating her and bringing her into the garage at night. It's been over a week. She's more alert than she was and is eating but still laying down a lot during the day.

 

[vantain]

I looked mine over again today, mainly to check on why she is molting. She's definitely molting, mainly the feathers on her neck and breast area. She has new shafts of feathers emerging, so this is more than just feather loss. There are quite a lot, so no doubt she is feeling off.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I looked mine over again today, mainly to check on why she is molting. She's definitely molting, mainly the feathers on her neck and breast area. She has new shafts of feathers emerging, so this is more than just feather loss. There are quite a lot, so no doubt she is feeling off.

I've found that my birds don't particularly eat their normal food very well during molt.
To peak interest, I make them a wet mash of feed, water and buttermilk. I also add B-Complex to the mash. Not sure if the buttermilk gives a little tang or what, but they gobble it down. I usually make the mash the night before I feed it, but if you let it soak for an hour or so that should be sufficient.

I feed a 20% protein feed year round, so don't necessarily offer extra protein, but if you are using layer feed that's around 16%, I would consider offering a little egg, fish or meat for a protein boost or if you have chick starter or all flock feed (18-20% protein) that would be good too.

 

[vantain]

I've found that my birds don't particularly eat their normal food very well during molt.
To peak interest, I make them a wet mash of feed, water and buttermilk. I also add B-Complex to the mash. Not sure if the buttermilk gives a little tang or what, but they gobble it down. I usually make the mash the night before I feed it, but if you let it soak for an hour or so that should be sufficient.

I feed a 20% protein feed year round, so don't necessarily offer extra protein, but if you are using layer feed that's around 16%, I would consider offering a little egg, fish or meat for a protein boost or if you have chick starter or all flock feed (18-20% protein) that would be good too.

I have been feeding her a wetted mash of her normal feed, which is a 20% All Flock. I occasionally use water with electrolytes and vitamins to mix with it.

 

[vantain]

Well...maybe some improvement today. I saw Gwyneth scratching and pecking with the others for a few minutes. That is the most activity I have seen out of her in over a week now. She's back to just sitting for now, but maybe things are turning around for her.

 

[webmistress32]

Mine is outside with her friends under the barn shed doing a dust bath. She seems to be improving a little too!

 

[vantain]

Major improvement! Gwyneth seems to be back to eating/drinking on her own without my assistance. As mentioned, she is also molting, as she has a tremendous amount of new pin feathers coming in on her neck, breast, and wings. Maybe all this was caused by that process kicking in, and why she was feeling unwell. That, and the extreme cold we had at the same time may have just took its toll on her. I'm glad I was able to help her through it. Today the temperature has risen to 30 so far, and the high today is expected to reach the upper 30s. I'm hoping the warmer temps will continue to help Gwyneth get back to her normal self.

 

[vantain]

Gwyneth is molting pretty hard now, and I think she is being pecked on by the others. She's looking very scraggly right now, and I found her in the coop today, with a bloodied comb and face. The others do seem to like pecking on and pulling those emerging pin feathers. It's karma for Gwyneth though, as she was very mean to a couple of my other older hens when they were molting. I'll get a picture of her later and post it.

 

[vantain]

Ok..upon watching them more today, it appears she is afraid of my rooster. He came into the coop, and she was panicking. Not sure if he's the one who attacked her due to her molt, or exactly what is going on here. He has been fine with everyone else today, so I can only imagine he may be picking on her because of her pin feathers?

I may cage her separately tonight, just so he can't get to her. He's actually been a good boy up till this point. I haven't actually seen him do anything to her, so I can't say for certain.

 

[vantain]

Ok..upon watching them more today, it appears she is afraid of my rooster. He came into the coop, and she was panicking. Not sure if he's the one who attacked her due to her molt, or exactly what is going on here. He has been fine with everyone else today, so I can only imagine he may be picking on her because of her pin feathers?

I may cage her separately tonight, just so he can't get to her. He's actually been a good boy up till this point. I haven't actually seen him do anything to her, so I can't say for certain.

Yeah..this went downhill after I posted here...so I created a new thread here about it:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/cockerel-attacking-molting-hen.1446925/