2yo hen molting...forever?

[WannabeHomsteader]

Only thing I can think of is mites. A couple drops of Ivermectin liquid might help if she is dealing with parasites like mites or lice. You'd have to treat the whole flock though.

You can also increase protein by giving them chopped hard boiled eggs (shell and all for a boost in calcium, score score) or a can of tuna.

Poor baby. I have a Fayoumi hen who is going into molt early and has one lone feather sticking out of her tail I have to contain my self to not reach out and pull it out when she isn't looking. Looks so totally silly at this moment.

Would mites only affect one hen though? I only have two in this flock, and the other one seems very normal. I am hoping no mites, I've heard they're difficult to get rid of. I just dumped ALL their pine shavings in their coop into the compost today, because it was due for a cleanout anyway. Thank you for the suggestion for protein! I just recently bought the 16% and would like to use it up before buying a bag of 20% protein feed.

Aww, poor hen! I can see the silliness now, with those distinctive tail feathers...but having just one. I'm sure she appreciates your self-restraint. Molting is hard enough work as it is!

 

[McChooky]

My leghorns went thru a stress molt caused by me moving them around and getting rid of a rooster .It took about a year.

 

[microchick]

I've had one incident with lice on a few of my birds but not the whole flock. Wound up treating everyone. Same with leg mites. You can check them easily enough for feather mites/lice by looking at their feathers near the skin under their wings and around their vents.

Should look like tiny grains of rice attached to the feather shaft and see movement from the live lice.

I feed mine game bird starter during molt along with hard boiled eggs, crushed and chopped with the shell or a few cans of tuna. You can also take a container or two of plain yogurt and mix it with their crumbles. They love it and it gives them a good dose of probiotics along with extra protein.

If you aren't dealing with a parasite, then I agree with what's been said and she is just weirding out being stressed over something that only exists in her little chicken pea brain and all you can do is offer her good support and food till she sorts it out for herself.

 

[WannabeHomsteader]

Well, I found mites today in the pine shavings of their nesting boxes. My hens sleep in the nesting boxes. Ever since I got them last year, they have ALWAYS refused to roost on the bar. I think these are red mites... I wish I had taken a photo to share. Would they cause such feather loss, though?

Also, how to treat? Can I expect a complete eradication of the problem, or should I expect to "manage" the mite problem in my flock from here on out?

 

[BDutch]

Only thing I can think of is mites. A couple drops of Ivermectin liquid might help if she is dealing with parasites like mites or lice. You'd have to treat the whole flock though.

You can also increase protein by giving them chopped hard boiled eggs (shell and all for a boost in calcium, score score) or a can of tuna.

Poor baby. I have a Fayoumi hen who is going into molt early and has one lone feather sticking out of her tail I have to contain my self to not reach out and pull it out when she isn't looking. Looks so totally silly at this moment.

Are you sure you want your give poisonous medicines if you are not sure about the cause. ? This can harm their health further if there is something else underlying.

I don’t see mites or feather lice.

I know some ex-battery hens that had a real bad time in custody, can have severe problems in growing back their feathers. Bald spots can stay forever.

As @nuthatched says, it looks likes the other one is pecking her. If you get the right feed and set her apart for a week or 2, you should see a difference. I know people often use blue cote to stop the pecking too.

@Shadrach knows more about ex-bats than I do (I know these things only from reading. )

 

[BDutch]

Well, I found mites today in the pine shavings of their nesting boxes. My hens sleep in the nesting boxes. Ever since I got them last year, they have ALWAYS refused to roost on the bar. I think these are red mites... I wish I had taken a photo to share. Would they cause such feather loss, though?

Also, how to treat? Can I expect a complete eradication of the problem, or should I expect to "manage" the mite problem in my flock from here on out?

It certainly makes them vulnerable for sickness and damages their health. Act quick!
Clean the whole coop with green soap and vinegar. The nestbox twice.

 

[BDutch]

After the cleanup you can go the quick poisonous way to eliminate the red mites or do it the hard way with DE , more DE and even more DE and corrugated paper and another cleanup after 7-10 days if the adult mites keep coming . Repeat the DE and check daily on the number of red mites (the tiny ones too). DE only kills the baby’s (nymph). And is very good to keep the red mites away after a torough cleanup.

Good luck. If the red mites are gone the hen in question hopefully heals quickly.

 

[McChooky]

Mites can kill chickens.As a rule of thumb I don't get chickens from anyone locally.I raise my own chicks. It can take a year to get rid of them

 

[nuthatched]

Well, I found mites today in the pine shavings of their nesting boxes. My hens sleep in the nesting boxes. Ever since I got them last year, they have ALWAYS refused to roost on the bar. I think these are red mites... I wish I had taken a photo to share. Would they cause such feather loss, though?

Also, how to treat? Can I expect a complete eradication of the problem, or should I expect to "manage" the mite problem in my flock from here on out?

Get some permethrine based powder or spray and treat your coop. They are usually easy to kill off.

 

[WannabeHomsteader]

Mites can kill chickens.As a rule of thumb I don't get chickens from anyone locally.I raise my own chicks. It can take a year to get rid of them

I can totally see your point, in hindsight. These were my very first chickens ever, so I didn't know what I didn't know. She was like this when I got her, a bit disheveled, but I assumed it was a molting thing then. I am hoping to hatch out my own chicks for any future additions to the flock.