Is this molting behavior + hen sleeping in the egg box

[Tweetledee]

Im a bit concerned about my buff Orpington bantam. Shes acting strange and not sure how to help her.
She hasn't laid in about 8 weeks. Then a week ago I noticed a lot of her feathers all over the run. She didn't look injured and was still eating and drinking and I figured, since we are in autumn, she must be molting.

The last three days shes been sleeping in the nestboxes. The hen house has more than enough space and I only have 4 hens so its not a space issue. I considered if shes being bullied, and also not entirely sure. I spend lots of time with my girls and never seen any bulling, but when I sprinkle feed their feed she gets all excited but just looks at it while the others eat. Then she goes to it later. However, when we take a wheelbarrow of composted dirt to them from the garden, she doesn't hold back. She frantically scratches and pulls out earthworms which she gobbles up. All 4 hens scratch and have a ball.
Is this normal molting behavior? I read that during this time they become skittish and wont let you touch them, which seems like her behavior at the moment.
Could it be getting to cold for her and shes snuggling in the egg box? Our temperatures are dropping to 55F at night, so not excessively cold, but worth asking.
Would appreciate any advice. Its our first "going into winter" with our girls so still learning.

Thank you

 

[Yardmom]

It could be molting behavior, but keep an eye on her.

 

[avjudge]

Last fall when one of ours was molting, she just refused to go in the coop at sunset. My husband who puts them away would come in complaining how he had to chase her around to herd her toward the coop.

I did a search here at the time to see if this was normal molting behavior, and while I don’t believe I found anybody complaining about this, I do seem to remember finding posts by people complaining their molting hens were sleeping in the nest box.

So disruption of roosting seems to be not uncommon while molting. However, two other of my hens did not display this so it is not universal.

 

[rosemarythyme]

From your description this sounds like a molt. Adding some protein to their diet can help with re-feathering, but it's not a requirement (I don't change anything I do). Otherwise just try to keep handling of her to a minimum at this time.

A molting bird hiding in a nest box isn't really doing it because they're cold, it's more that they're uncomfortable with being touched (by you, by the rest of the flock) so sitting in the nest box takes her away from that.

 

[Tweetledee]

From your description this sounds like a molt. Adding some protein to their diet can help with re-feathering, but it's not a requirement (I don't change anything I do). Otherwise just try to keep handling of her to a minimum at this time.

A molting bird hiding in a nest box isn't really doing it because they're cold, it's more that they're uncomfortable with being touched (by you, by the rest of the flock) so sitting in the nest box takes her away from that.

Thanks for the reply. She doesn't let me handle her at all, but observing her today I think its molt as she doesn't necessarily cower away from the others but tries to avoid them. She's a Bantam, so when they see me walking to the coop, they all get excited, and most of the time run over her.

I don't have an issue with her sleeping in the nest box. Just have to clean it out in the mornings, but it's not so bad. Should I just leave her to sleep in the nest box where she is happy, or should I try and close off the nest box at night and hope she roosts? We have about five roosts inside the hen house, and only four chickens so she shouldn't be overwhelmed by the others.

Also gave them some scrambled eggs today, and I usually give them meal worms as well. She's already looking better than she did this morning. Still skittish, but her comb seems to look a lot pinker than it did this yesterday. It was looking very pale.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't have an issue with her sleeping in the nest box. Just have to clean it out in the mornings, but it's not so bad. Should I just leave her to sleep in the nest box where she is happy, or should I try and close off the nest box at night and hope she roosts? We have about five roosts inside the hen house, and only four chickens so she shouldn't be overwhelmed by the others.

That's up to you - personally, I don't want them in the nest boxes and keep a few sheets of cardboard in the coop to cover them at night if a bird gets in the habit of sitting in them (I have one hen that often goes semi-broody). But it won't do her any harm to spend the night in them, it's mostly a matter of inconvenience for the keeper.