Naked chicken

[molly4468]

I have a 3yo Dominique that molted last fall (September or so) and then never regrew any feathers. This is the first time she has done that. She's on a standard laying pellet and all her coop mates have molted and regrown all their feathers. I don't keep roosters and everyone is good friends, so it's not that she's getting her feathers picked. She looks terrible, which is sad, because she was a beautiful chicken. I'm sure she's not very comfortable, either. Any thoughts? There are no signs of parasites. Everyone else is very healthy with lovely shiny feathers.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you think that she may being growing in feathers, and then the other chickens are picking them out as they come in? Can you see any pin feathers coming in? That can be common in a lower pecking order chicken. I would switch to all flock feed 20% to bump up their protein, give her some high protein snacks such as chopped egg and tuna to help with feather regrowth, and try a hen apron on her. There are simple patterns online made our of polar fleece that involve no sewing if you Google hen saddle or hen apron. Make sure that you put a bowl of crushed oyster shell out to give them access to the calcium that all flock lacks. You also could place her in a dog crate with food and water inside the coop to still be part of the flock, and see if she might grow some feathers in.