Molt or illness??

[Srog33]

Hi all, I am new to chickens since this past April. I have just 4 Easter egger hens and am wondering if I have a sick hen or she is going through an early molt at a bad time. I noticed about a month ago some feathers missing from one girls neck and then just feathers everywhere in the coop the last few weeks. In the past week this girl is almost bald, pale comb and just looks terrible. The rest look fine.
For the winter I moved their waterer in the coop with a heated base and have been adding electrolytes. I always thought that chickens ate more in the winter but they don't seem to be eating all that much. I do give grubs daily as a treat and have been giving scrambled eggs a few days a week since I noticed the missing feathers.
I feed scratch and peck 16% but did add some corn to the food for winter. I do not heat my coop but it is free from drafts. I live in upstate NY so winter Temps are usually in 30s.

Should I be doing something more? Should I separate her and maybe give her some heat? Any supplements I can give? She looks terrible and im worried.
Thank you!

 

[sourland]

Sounds like a full blown molt. As long as she is maintaining, I would tend to leave her with the flock. Generally birds that molt this time of year tend to refeather rapidly.

 

[Annalyse]

Did you check her for any mites or parasites? My hens well 2 so far have molted early. Mine have it around their neck.

 

[GRB73]

You could isolate her to watch more closely how much she is eating and drinking. Also, to observe her droppings.

Has she stopped laying eggs? That could be the reason for the pale comb. Also, how is she acting? If she is lethargic, tucking her head or drooping her wings, she may be ill. How do her droppings look? Does she have diarrhea?

My Ameracauna drops her feathers very quickly when she molts and looks miserable during the entire process. But the feathers regrow very quickly and she is usually back to her fluffy butted self in 4 to 5 weeks.

 

[Srog33]

Thank you everyone. I will check her out a little more closely when I get home today. I dont think its mites, would I see anything obvious?

I only have one girl still laying eggs right now, it is one of the others not by balding girl.

There hasn't been any diarrhea or unusual droppings. It seems that they have all decreased their intake. I use the gravity feed pvc feeders and I have not had to fill them in well over a month. They are still half full. I do give them a couple handfuls of grubs every day that they all eat right up....as well as scrambled eggs.

She doesn't act sick but she used to be the bully and now she seems a bit skittish with the others. Ive never seen any of them being mean though