molting?

[sydneygirl89]

I think my chicken is molting..the coop looks like there should be a bald chicken hiding somewhere and she's not acting like her normal self. Glenn has a ton of personality and usually greets you with a few clucks and then she runs toward you. for the past few days, her voice has been weird, and she doesn't like to do things or eat all the stuff she normally does! shes not laying either. is this molting? are the things she's doing normal for molting? is there anything I can do to help? she looks like she's sick! am I overreacting? haha. thanks!

 

[Judy]

It does sound like molting. It's not unusual for a "lap chicken" not to want to be held while molting; evidently they are nuncomfortable. They need good nutrition, for one thing; extra protein helps. Here is a good article:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chickens-loosing-feathers-managing-your-flocks-molt

 

[mtngirl35]

Yeah, sounds like molting to me. My sweetie-pie roo was ill as a hornet during his molt and wouldn't even peck at his scratch for a few days. Now a few of my girls are molting and they just perch on the roosts in the run and stare at me like its my fault. No happy clucking or running up for treats. They look all scraggly and the ones that are molting are not laying. Feathers everywhere!!! Its normal. Give them some extra protein. It will help some. I just cooked up some ground beef and rinsed it under hot water to get the fat off it and took it to them before they went in to roost. I will also mix in some high quality dry catfood in with their scratch until the molt is over.