We have a light Brahma hen who we thought has been molting for the last couple of weeks. You can tell from the picture that she has lost feathers and is much smaller than our other light brahmas. I noticed that she has been laying down pretty often and I will catch her lying while eating or pretty much whenever she isn’t standing. I just noticed that her feet look swollen. I’ve never seen this before and I am looking for some advice on what may be wrong with her if anything at all. She acts, eats and drinks normally other than the limping that I just noticed today.
How old are your Brahma's?
You're right, she's looking rough. Take a look at the bottom of her feet and see if it's red due to swelling from infection. See if there's a round dark in color scab near or at the center of her footpad. If so, it's bumblefoot and will require minor surgery to remove the staph infection.
Also, depending on her age, she could be in a mini molt. It could happen any time of the year. Full molts usually occur during the fall or winter. Sometimes stress can cause a molt and if she has bumblefoot, it can be a cause of stress. Brahma's look big when they are fully feathered. However, after molting they look pathetically skinny. I know this because I own Light Brahma's.
Also check her for external parasites especially around the vent area. Lice eggs can be seen at the base of feather shafts. Lice are white/off white or straw in color and move quickly through fluff and feathers. Mites move slowly and are black or red in color. They suck blood and cause anemia leading to death. Excessive scratching or feather pulling due to external parasite irritation can be a problem.
If she is at the bottom of the pecking order, she might be getting pecked or picked on by the other birds. They may not let her eat neither. If this is the case, it would be best to put out an extra feeder in another area of the pen away from the other birds and their feeder.
Have you seen her feathers or fluff laying on the ground from molting? If not, where are they? If you dont see them, either she is eating her own feathers and fluff or the other birds are eating them.
That would suggest that your Brahma's need extra protein in their diet. You can give them Gamebird feed which is higher in protein. Withhold the layer feed and give them Gamebird feed for one month. Then slowly wean off the Gamebird feed them back to regular layer feed.
Lastly, there could be a feather picker in your flock. You'll have observe your flock for the feather picker. Then cull the feather picker. If you dont, the other birds will learn from the feather picker and will start picking at each other or the lowest bird in the pecking order.
