Will feathers grow and how can I give them a boost?!

[Sebright18]

I am attending a poultry show on Wednesday, today is sat and my golden laced Wyandotte hen had been moulting but her new feathers have grown about 0.8cm in length, Its 4 days to the show, there is a small bare patch about 0.5cm in a circle, the new feathers need to grow about 0.2cm do you think they will cover the bare patch in time and cover up fluffy bits etc. Also is there anything I can do to give there feathers a boost, however obvisouly not to grow them fully but to speed it up a little. I am washing them every other day Intel tomorrow when I will wash them once more to allow 3 days for the oils to come back into there coats. Many Thanks!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Feathers are 93% protein so a high protein diet will help.
Anything that cuts the protein should be eliminated like scratch grains which are only about 10% protein.
Try switching to a game bird grower. I always do that during and after molt.

Meat and fish scraps and any kind of dairy are ok but hold off on other table scraps until next week.

 

[Sebright18]

What is the best protein to give them? Not game food etc

 

[Sebright18]

What is the best protein food to give them? NOT POULTRY FOOD OR GAME

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Tuna or any kind of fish. Plain whole fat yogurt or cottage cheese are good.
BOSS is high in protein too.

I also get cheap organ meats like liver and kidney.
You'll want to chop it up pretty fine but they'll love you for it.

 

[Sebright18]

and how will this help there feathers in 4 days will they grow quick or...

 

[ChickenCanoe]

4 days is pretty soon. Probably too little time.
You just asked if there was anything you could do.
My point is, feathers are primarily protein. They can't grow feathers without sufficient protein. The theory is, the more and higher quality the protein, the better they'll grow.
Chickens are omnivores so animal protein sources are superior to vegetative sources like soy.

 

[BantamLover21]

4 days is a bit too little time for feathers to completely grow in. However, to speed up the process as much as possible, give your hen some wet cat food, tuna, mealworms, or Black Oil Sunflower Seeds to boost the protein in her diet. Feathers are almost completely protein, so the more protein, the faster they'll grow. While 4 days is a short amount of time, she may indeed grow in those feathers in time. Good luck at the show!

 

[Sebright18]

Would Chick Crumbs count as protein?

Thank You!

 

[BantamLover21]

Would Chick Crumbs count as protein?

Thank You!

Chick crumbs are higher in protein than layer feed or grower feed, so yes, they would increase her protein level. If you feed her chick crumbs, though, offer oyster shell or crushed/finely ground egg shell to make sure that your hen gets enough calcium, as chick feed lacks much of that.