Whats wrong with my chicken?

[RoxBox615]

We have 5, 9month old Black Sexed/Rhode Island Reds. One of them appears to be losing feathers and the feathers that are there have a white wax or something on them. Is it fungal or something else and what should I do for her? Thanks!!

 

[Louise Waffles]

It just looks like new feathers to me

 

[animalgrl]

I think your chicken is molting. It happens. I've read that it doesn't happen until after they are a year old, but I've had some molt much earlier than that.
Is it acting ill in any way? Are the other chicken's picking at it? If not, it's probably just a mlt and nothing to worry about. Those feathers with the waxy coating are the new feathers coming in to replace the lost feathers. All of your mature chickens will likely molt once a year. Some will lose a bunch of feathers at once and look like your hen, and some will lose feathers more slowly and you might not even even notice them looking much different when they molt.

 

[dlp40]

Has it had a molt this year? I have a hen that looks just like that after her molt is done and she starts regrowing feathers.

 

[RoxBox615]

Thanks so much for the replies so far. As far as I know she has not molted yet. It does not appear the other chickens are picking on her, or that she is ill. She was eating and drinking and acting normally. I just got worried because she looks so weird and none of the chickens look like that! I feel much better! Thank you

 

[animalgrl]

Glad we could help. Too bad chickens don't come with an instruction manual! But even if they did, they wouldn't read it so they still would leave us scratching our heads! Glad your girl is OK.