Lavender Orpington Acting Strange

[youngbirdmom]

So I have my first lavender hen. I got her as a chick from TSC back in June. Lately she has been molting like crazy, way more than the other girls I got around the same time. It honestly looks like something killed another lavender out there because there are just so many feathers.

She also is not roosting. She hasn’t been jumping up and has decided to sleep near the heater or in a nesting box. A couple weeks ago she tried jumping up on the ramp to get into the coop and missed twice, just not jumping high enough, and just lost all her confidence in jumping. She still walks and runs fine and flies around. She will walk up the sticks we have in the chicken run to get to the roosting branches but is just not jumping. I’ve had a large hen before but this has never happened.

I have tried vitamins and electrolytes. She’s growing up to be a big healthy bird on the outside otherwise. Is the excessive molting normal for this breed? Has anyone else's hen sworn off jumping to roosts?

 

[Tonyroo]

@ColtHandorf , can you help?

 

[ColtHandorf]

All of my Orpingtons look like dookie right now. They are molting everywhere. Look at the protein on the feed. I’ve had to increase line during molts. As far as not roosting, my entire flock of red Orpingtons is roosting in the middle of their pen. It hasn’t rained and they’ve never learned to go to bed on their own. I’m tired of putting them up all the time. They’ll learn when it’s cold and wet. Lol

 

[youngbirdmom]

All of my Orpingtons look like dookie right now. They are molting everywhere. Look at the protein on the feed. I’ve had to increase line during molts. As far as not roosting, my entire flock of red Orpingtons is roosting in the middle of their pen. It hasn’t rained and they’ve never learned to go to bed on their own. I’m tired of putting them up all the time. They’ll learn when it’s cold and wet. Lol

Thank you for the advice on the feed! I will definitely get some. She is my first Orpington ever.

She goes into the coop at night. My other hens all roost and she just lays in a nesting box bear them. She used to jump to roost on little toys growing up. It wasn’t until she missed the ramp twice trying to get into the coop that she just stopped jumping on to the roosts and ramps. She just walks up the ramp. But she will jump and fly around in the run no problem. I’ve tried putting logs in to make a step up to the roost and a little ladder but she just lays down in the hay instead.