Our first molt

[Neebunny]

Hi everyone, this is my first year with chickens and they are molting really bad. By bd, I mean A LOT. it seems like they have no appetite. I tried giving scrambled eggs and they will eat a little but are not interested. They usually go crazy for blueberries, but now they are snubbing them. Should I be worried? Not sure if that’s normal. This morning one of my girls morning poo was liquidy, but i am not sure if she’s sick from the molt or not eating or? I don’t know, I just feel worried. They seem miserable.

 

[aart]

How old are these birds, in months?

IME lack of eating and drinking during molt is not unusual.
IMO a good 'all flock' ration is the best feed all year around.
Adding extra foods and/or 'treats' is not a good idea.

 

[CHlCKEN]

What protein percentage are you feeding? They need about 18-20% to get through a hard molt. I would keep giving scrambled eggs. Are they all refusing to eat, or just a few?

Like mentioned above, cut the unnecessary treats during this time. Scrambled egg should still be good and perhaps even a motivator to eat, but focus mainly on getting them to ingest their feed.

I would say a watery poop while not eating much is to be expected and not a cause for concern.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Pretty common to happen while molting. Put them on a 20% all flock and don’t force feed them. When they go through the really hard part of the molt they also will often find a quiet corner in the coop to stay during the day and have pale combs/wattles.

 

[Neebunny]

Thanks all, it seems they are all barely eating, my buff seems to be eating more but that’s just when I am looking. I took one of my girls out today and cleaned up her foot (she was holding it up and I was worried she had bumble, thankfully ok!) and she felt so skinny. Do they usually lose weight? I am giving 20% protein food. Any tips to encourage them to eat?

 

[Dynamissa]

How're your girls doing? I'm going through this with one of mine... crop empty going in to roost, and it's cooooold out.