Should I Be Worried?

[mikewest]

All four of our girls went through a molt in the last few months. The last one seems to be at the tail end of it and her feathers are almost completely grown back. Her behavior is a little worrisome though as none of the others displayed this during their molt. She is laying down a lot and seems to have a hard time walking. She doesn't seem to display any pain response when I apply gentle pressure to her legs. Her comb is still pale so I'm pretty sure she's not laying again yet so I know she's not egg bound, I've also felt her abdomen just to make sure it's not distended. She's eating, drinking and pooping like normal. Not showing any other odd behavior besides that....I've read that molting can be very stressful so I'm wondering if this is not entirely unusual? All the reading and searching I've done online doesn't point me to anything moderately conclusive and she's not showing any other symptoms or abnormal behaviors. Could she just be having a real hard molt or is there something I might be missing? Hoping someone has seen this before.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

I'm sure you've checked her feet to make sure there's no injury or bumblefoot.

What do you feed, including treats?

I'd give her 1/4 tablet B-Complex to see if that helps with the legs. It's hard to know what's going on there. If she's coming back into lay, it's possible she may have an egg pressing on a nerve, but if this has been going on a while, it may not be that.

I'd make sure she's getting to food/water. If she's not getting picked on I'd leave her with her flock and accommodate her the best you can, like is she needs help getting into the coop at night. If she's unable to roost, provide her with clean bedding to lay on inside the coop, etc.

 

[mikewest]

Thanks for responding. They're being fed Purina Layena+ layer's feed. They also get about 1/2 cup of scratch and soldier fly larvae once, sometimes twice, a day. Then whatever bugs and grass and bits they peck from the yard. This has been going on a couple weeks and I have not seen her going in to lay since before she started her molt. She's still seems to be eating and drinking very well and not being picked on that I've seen. I noticed a week ago she was not roosting so I have been making sure where she's been sleeping is kept clean and has fresh bedding. I'll try the B complex and see if that makes any difference. Thanks for the advice.