LACEY SORE TO THE TOUCH NOW

[weezilgirl]

These photos are from this summer. I didn't mean to get the first one so big.

Lacey is a big red hen with beautiful feathers. She has always been super healthy. She is 7. I just picked her up and tons of her feathers came out. The short fluffy ones flew everywhere. I can see gaps on her now where the feathers were.

8:00 P.M. I picked Lacey up for the roost and she flinched and squawked. She is a cuddly hen and has never responded this way. My impression is that it hurt her for me to touch and lift her.

Any ideas, anyone?

 

[weezilgirl]

I dusted her early this morning with DE and a dust for mites, lice, ticks, etc. She now has an bald spot on her back that is approximately 4X4 inches. As she forages, feathers are falling off. She is eating and drinking. Her crop was empty this morning and her vent looks fine. She still has diarrhea. She needs help and I don't know what to do. No avian vet within 200 miles here. Tulsa is nearest one.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Sounds like she is going through a heavy molt. Try increasing her protein intake for a few weeks to help grow in the feathers faster.

 

[weezilgirl]

Thank you SO much for replying.

I feel a regular laying pellet. What should I feed for the extra protein. She is a rescue and I'm new to the care of pet chickens.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Thank you SO much for replying.

I feel a regular laying pellet. What should I feed for the extra protein. She is a rescue and I'm new to the care of pet chickens.

Switch to a flock raiser with about 20% protein in it for a few weeks. If she is moulting and at her age I suspect she won't lay at all. Offer oyster shell free choice if you want during this time. Or give her a hard boiled or scrambled egg every day. Lots of protein in those. I have a girl with a healing open wound and have been giving her the flock raiser and 2 eggs a day for 3 days now, and wound is 50% healed. The extra protein really speeds things up.

 

[nakstk]

sound to me like a heavy molt too. You can feed her scrabbled eggs, tuna, cat food, meal worms there are a lot of things you can feed her to increase her protein. Do you just have her or do you have more hens?

I have been feeding mine oatmeal, ground flax seed and 2 eggs shells and all. They love it on these cold mornings.

 

[weezilgirl]

Great! I have all of that except the meal worms. I'll fix something up now. I rescued 4 hens from a man and one succumbed to a dog attack in 2011. Thelma died this August due to old age. They were all around 6 when I got them. I have Lacey and Louise left.

It is in the 40s, at night now, and I'm worried about her becoming too cold. The coop is insulated and I have a lot of good hay on the floor. Should I do more?

Thank you so much.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Great! I have all of that except the meal worms. I'll fix something up now. I rescued 4 hens from a man and one succumbed to a dog attack in 2011. Thelma died this August due to old age. They were all around 6 when I got them. I have Lacey and Louise left.

It is in the 40s, at night now, and I'm worried about her becoming too cold. The coop is insulated and I have a lot of good hay on the floor. Should I do more?

Thank you so much.

They should be fine as long as protected from the wind. And if it only 2 hens giving both the extra protein would be ok.