Need help first time chicken mommy!

[Danielle33801]

So I have 5 Rhode Island reds all girls I have no rooster. So I had one of my girls go broody wouldn't leave the coop at all took me almost a month of constantly pulling her out and forcing her to stay with the flock. I couldn't just block the laying boxes because all my girls lay at different times threw out the day. She's now coming out on her own but her comb still isn't as bright red like the other four but my biggest concern is she's loosing feathers like crazy now my girls are just about 14 months so is this molting? My other 4 have no feather loss at all.

 

[MissNiss]

Does she have balding on her chest? If she's broody and sitting on the nest, she might be pulling her feathers out.

 

[coach723]

The quickest way to break a broody is to use a wire crate raised off the ground with boards or blocks. Put it in the run so the bird is still visible to the flock, no bedding at all, she's just on the wire and the air can circulate all around her, and her own food and water. Leave her in there until she changes her mind. This usually takes a few days to a week depending on how stubborn they are. I turn the crate upside down as the wire on top is closer together than on the bottom, easier on her feet. Leaving them broody for so long is hard on them for no reason if they are not going to hatch eggs as they don't eat and drink well. So feather loss could be from being broody, that is usually mostly from the lower breast area. Or she could be molting. Check for any pin feathers coming in especially around the face/neck, under the wings or around the tail/vent. Sometimes molts are so gradual they are barely noticeable, and sometimes they are a feather explosion. If you find pin feathers it's probably a molt.

 

[RichtmanRanch]

Most chickens go though a big molt at 18 months old. Could be starting early. When they are broody they lose/pull out the feathers under their Brest to incubate eggs. How long has she been has it been since she has been starting to leave the nest box again? The often don't eat when the are broody so she could still need to recover from a nutrition deficit. Molting take a lot of time and energy for the bird. Some say you can feed a higher protein food, like for meat birds. But I would do more research into that. There is also a product called Feather Fixer. I think purina or nutria sells it. I can never find it at the farm store and if they do have it its in a ten pound bag. But I know you can order it online. When I did use it, it seemed to help. Two of my year olds when though a heavy molt mid winter! Hope this helps. We were all new chicken parents at some point.

 

[RichtmanRanch]

Pictures always help too.