Molt VS Illness

I know you guys get this a LOT and I'm sorry to bring it up again but what the heck.

I currently have four hens in my small flock. One, a four year old silkie, is dandy. She's just tough as nails and lays eggs just about every day. She's also sort of a major jerk, but she fits in with the others because I always stick to so-called "docile" or "friendly" breeds to avoid troubles. I hope.

The other three are all different breeds and were hatched on the same day about 13 months ago. The cream legbar went into what apparently was a molt about 3 months ago. I really thought she was sick because she was so young to be molting, but here we are and she's looking beautiful and she's back to her active self. About a month ago, the blue favacuana started dropping feathers, looking horrible and acting vile and so okay, I just sort of cautiously accepted it was again an early molt.

I keep saying early molt here because I've never had a bird molt before they were about 18 mths old. This is not something in my experience.

Well, she's still going through it but she seems healthy and I'm not worried over her. But about two days ago my lavender Orpington just started dropping feathers like CRAZY. She'd been the only one laying with the silkie up to about a week ago but I figured maybe it was the winter darkness, etc and because she seemed okay I didn't worry. But starting yesterday I noticed she was tending to sit sort of hunched up (I should add that we're going through was amounts to a cold, windy snap here in Florida. It's maybe 50 something and the wind is blowing hard enough to take down branches) and I saw her have several very watery and/or whitish droppings. I see her pecking around and drinking water, but she's not terribly interested in the food.

I changed to a higher protein grower feed when the second bird started molting, btw.

I stopped the treats after yesterday, which the Orpington ALWAYS chowed on, although she's seemed to sort of lose interest in the last week. She'd come by with the others, scratch a bit, peck a bit and then wander off like whatever. ( talking mealworms and sometimes cottage cheese, although that's mostly just to lure them into the run if the weather is turning and I want to lock them up safely. It's not even a daily thing)

She's not as friendly and personable as she has always been. She's sort of avoiding us and while she's sticking with the flock, she's just not "her"

I think I know this could simply be the molt. I know you guys answer this a million times and I know I've read probably a half million of those threads. It's just so easy to doubt things when it's your own flock, right? So. The hunching (which isn't constant) and the vague appetite and the diarreha combined with the behaviour change and the serious, sudden feather drop - can all be molt related? What clues should I look for to see if there is anything else going on? Her color is still it's normal very beautiful bright red. She seems alert, if unhappy.

Lord I love this bird. Sigh. And right now my two dogs happen to be sick. Sometimes it feels like everything happens at once.

Now I'm whining. LOL


Thanks in advance for any wisdom you feel like sharing.

 

thanks for the reply. i'm definitely worrying about those things although my hens have always stopped laying while molting and most of my girls have either quit or really cut back on laying during the shortest days of the year - and it's been way cloudier and darker this December than usual, for some reason - plus the feathers falling out. all together combining to cause my concern.

but yeah. i worry about her being egg bound or laying internally.

 

thank you so much!

 

yes. i know you're right about the "cold" here and that your cold is real. i lived in south dakota for decades and have definitely become a lightweight when it comes to temps - in fact, it's why i moved. and i've a call into the only vet in the county that will see a chicken but since she's never been there before they would only give me a "new patient" appointment and first opening is the 27th. i'll keep the appointment unless it turns out i don't need it. so much easier for me to get my dogs and cat into see someone. i hope more vet clinics take up chickens in the future.

 

very much appreciate this.