Weak molting hen New symptom *pics added*

[86121]

She is loosing her feathers something fierce and appears to be weak, and very very sleepy, and has an empty crop. She also does not seem to have a lot of interest in food.
Is she weak because of the molt+sudden cold and snow?
She is a year old, her name is Princess, she is a Buff Orphington...
They were de-wormed properly a few days ago, so i cant de-worm them again for another 3-4 days.
Vitamins in the water
protein and vitamin shake made
her favorite scratch is in her pen
shes got a heat lamp...

Should I be doing anything else? Has this ever happened to anyone else's hens?

 

[Davian]

Maybe make her a scrambled egg slurry and force feed her if she's really bad.

 

[86121]

Quote:
Scrambled egg slurry, alright ill give it a go when the protein shake is gone.
Do you know if this is normal for molting hens?

 

[Davian]

Molting is pretty hard work for chickens...if its a hard molt, it could be just that.

 

[86121]

Quote:
Ok, as long as it can be considered normal, I know whats going on this time.
Thank you!
Now she should be ok right?
Should I post pictures?

 

[kidcody]

From my experience, weak and very, very sleep is not the norm. I find my hens that molt to be more "stand offish" maybe just move around slower but still love to eat. Diffidently try to give her extra protein while she comes throught the molt. The heat lamp is also very helpful at night. I do hope she starts growing her feathers and starts to feel better soon!

 

[86121]

Quote:
Ah i was afraid of that...
Ill keep everyone updated on her progress threw out the week.
Thanks for the info!

 

[Davian]

It kinda sounds like a really hard molt and lack of protein.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

I have a one year old BO who too is molting and simply looks awful. She barely eats and stands around all day. I hand feed her some meal worms in the morning and she gets half a scrambled egg in the late afternoon.

I was really freaking out about her because she looks so awful. She won't let me pick her up and I've tried to oblige because I don't want to upset her. But I finally picked her up last night and put her on the scale and her weight is holding tight at 4 lbs 8 ounces. So she's not loosing weight. But I would have lost a bet on that because she looks so frail and thin having lost all those feathers.

I did some research and read that hens may eat less during the molt. People are not sure if it's because they don't feel well or because they don't need all that extra energy it takes them to lay eggs.

Regardless, they are pretty hardy creatures and at one year of age, should be able to handle a molt okay. I know they look awful and it's so alarming. Try to find a source of protein she likes. Mine love meal worms and scrambled egg. She'll eat a little tuna off my fingers too. But no sale on yogurt or cottage cheese. I know some people will put a chicken carcass out for the hens after they roast a chicken and let them peck at that. I have an issue feeding my chickens chicken. But it IS a good source of protein and will give them something to work at for a while.

I ordered a box of 5000 meal worms from Petco for something like $30 or $32. I think it came out to $35-36 with shipping. They were on my porch the next day. I dumped them into a big plastic tub with three inches of wheat bran and a few carrots and kept them in the garage where it's cool. I just scoop out a bunch on my way out to see them in the morning. I've had this box a month now and I still have lots of worms left. But I'll probably order a 2nd box in a few weeks and feed her those while she finishes molting.

So keep an eye on her and try to get some protein in her every day. But I'll bet she's doing better than you think.

 

[86121]

New symptom:
Rancid almost cat poop smelling poop.
Its like a cow plop.
I mean I know chicken poo is not supposed to smell yummy, but this smells really bad...