Supplements to help hen grow? Please read!

[TheCluckyClucker2]

I have a hen that was broody for almost two months. She broke herself when the other three chickens were at the fair. When they came back the other two hens picked on her. She now has patches were she has no feathers or very little feathers. She is also very skinny from being broody. My thought is that if I add oyster shells to her feed, which have calcium, it will help her feathers grow. Is this true? I'm mixing them in her feed. Is there something else I can give her, or a feed I can give her to help with feather growth or help her gain weight? If you need pics I can get some.

 

[sourland]

Try protein supplementation and make sure the others are not feather pecking/plucking her.

 

[TheCluckyClucker2]

I'm sorry, I completely forgot to say how I am keeping her at the moment. In the day she is staying in a large dog crate where she can get grass. When the other chickens go to bed, one roo and two hens, I put her on the bar next to the rooster because he protects her.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Calcium has nothing to do with feather growth, and extra calcium should never be mixed into feed unless you're specifically supplementing a chicken with a deficiency. Most chickens should be able to regulate their intake on their own.

Protein can help with feather growth.

 

[TheCluckyClucker2]

So, just wondering, would meat bird or game bird feed help? She is not laying at the moment and I'm really not worried about getting her to lay. I had thought feathers had lots of calcium which was my reasoning. I now realize they are made mostly of protein. At least I have an interesting conversation with non chicken people. It usually goes like this:

Normal person: "How is your day"

Me: "Well, I had to wake up early this morning so I could take care of my special needs chicken and still have time to get to school."

NP: "A special needs CHICKEN?"

Me: "Yep"

 

[rosemarythyme]

So, just wondering, would meat bird or game bird feed help? She is not laying at the moment and I'm really not worried about getting her to lay.

Best to minimize the calcium she's getting then (around 1% is standard for chickens that aren't actively laying) - so if the meat or game bird feeds are higher in protein, and relatively low in calcium (like 20% and 1% respectively) they might be good options to try at this time.

 

[TheCluckyClucker2]

I found some Purina all flock feed. It is 20% protein and 1.30% calcium. Would this be a good option?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I found some Purina all flock feed. It is 20% protein and 1.30% calcium. Would this be a good option?

Sounds perfectly fine!

 

[TheCluckyClucker2]

Thanks! We did buy a bag of layer feed recently so I'm not sure I could convince mom that I need another bag of feed. She is not really a chicken person.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks! We did buy a bag of layer feed recently so I'm not sure I could convince mom that I need another bag of feed. She is not really a chicken person.

See if she'd agree to a smaller bag, just to help this hen along until she regains her condition.

Or offer to pay for it yourself if she normally pays - I don't know your situation.