Sick hennie or molt?

[mtnchickie79]

Hey fellow chicken lovers! I have a black Australorp hen, 19 months old, hand raised by me & my husband, fully vaccinated as a 2 day old chick. She is one of 14 hens, most of which are molting right now. She looks the worst, with a lot of feather loss, including around her head. Her comb is pale. She does have new feather growth, but she is walking funny and lays down a lot. She is eating and drinking. No respiratory symptoms. She was wormed a couple months ago. I have not seen any mites or lice. Any ideas? Thanks so much in advance!

 

[psychochickn]

Post pictures please.

 

[minihorse927]

Have you checked her feet for any sign of bumblefoot? Could she have been attacked or picked on the head by another chicken causing a nervous system issue? Does she feel thin through the breastbone?

 

[mtnchickie79]

Have you checked her feet for any sign of bumblefoot? Could she have been attacked or picked on the head by another chicken causing a nervous system issue? Does she feel thin through the breastbone?

I checked for bumble foot yesterday, and the bottoms of her feet look fine. It's definitely possible that she's been pecked in the head. I'll go check her breastbone, and take a photo of her & try to post it. Thinking of putting her in the house with us tonight where it's warm. It's been in the low 30's the past few mornings. Thanks, again, for the suggestions!

 

[mtnchickie79]

Here are a couple pics of my poor girl....

 

[theoldchick]

Looks like a good old fashioned molt.

Here's one of mine.

Welcome to BYC!

 

[minihorse927]

Yep that looks like plain old molt

 

[mtnchickie79]

Thank y'all so much! That is such a relief! I brought her in this evening to help keep her warm, and have been giving her some extra TLC.

We have no human kiddos, so my critters get all the babying. Have a blessed weekend!