Feathers lost their waterproofing

[British Raj]

Hi all
I have 4 hens - they are Wyandotte Bantams. Three of them are our own babies hatched this year on Easter Sunday. The 4th hen is their mummy.
Mummy hen moulted this summer after she raised her first brood so she is only about 15 months old. Since then, her feathers seem to have lost their waterproofing. Everytime we have a shower of rain, the difference between her feathers and that of her chicks is very obvious. While they walk around as if it hasnt rained on them, she is soaking wet and bedraggled. As autumn is establishing itself (2 days of wind and rain this weekend !) I am starting to fear for her health over the coming winter.

Is there anything i can do to restore the condition of her feathers please? Apply anything, bathe her with anything, add anything to her diet?

Note - She is very friendly but as a matter of course, we tend not to pick her up or pet her.

So Bonnie is the 2nd one from left .... the remaining 3 are her babies.

 

[Icemaiden]

Do you see all four of your girls preening regularly, or just the youngsters? Hens (& pullets) waterproof their feathers with oil from their preen gland, which is just above their tail. You should see each of them preening, picking up the oil with their head & rubbing it through their feathers.

 

[Marigold]

Lovely picture of them, what lucky chickens to have such a beautiful garden to enjoy. You were very lucky if the chicks were all girls!
Do they have a sheltered, dry area where they can choose to go if it’s very wet and windy? I know chickens do often seem not to notice the rain but it’s good to know it’s their choice, all the same, especially in really wet winter weather, so they’re not expending energy keeping warm and dry. It’s good to shut them in a dry covered area of their run for an hour or so before roosting time in winter, if possible, so their feathers dry off before they go into the coop, to avoid condensation, high humidity and possible respiratory disease - especially if one of them seems to have preening problems. Chickens are reasonably waterproof, like all birds, but not as much as ducks or those whose natural habitat is in water.
I know this doesn’t answer your question!

 

[chrismahon]

We have Wyandottes BR and they are not a very waterproof breed so, as said, it's important to give them a dry area. When wet they will get cold quickly and then ill potentially. Locate the preen gland and make sure it isn't swollen, as in rare cases glands can block up. You may not get any oil from it and all I can suggest is to make sure the feed is good quality and not the cheap 'own brand' stuff sold in some merchants. Everything she needs to be in good health will be in good quality feed. You could give her 1mL (one) of cod liver oil once (and only once) as that should give her a boost- she may still be run down after rearing. We use cod liver oil with any chicken that appears run down and it does help them a lot.

 

[British Raj]

Thanks all ... To answer some of your points ...
They are preening regularly, all of them.
They were not all girls. I had a 50-50 brood but have re-homed the three boys and kept the girls.
They have a really sound waterproof home with a poly carbonate roof that keeps their run completely dry. There is a spacious wooden box attached to the run with bedding. They have completely abandoned this during these summer months. I am hoping they start using it again when the weather gets colder. Instead they have been perching on a branch that I have fixed inside the run. Again dry and clean. They have access to this run and box all day and do go in and rest whenever they feel like it. They also come in under our rear porch which is 22 feet x 10 feet + there are many spots in the garden where they can be out of the rain when it comes down.
I will have a go at checking out the preen gland as i am pretty hands on with the birds and other pets. They are on Allen & Page Smallholder range growers pellets as the young'uns havent started laying yet and I was having trouble feeding the mummy hen her layers pellets without the babies eating it. I also give them (perhaps more that I should) some Allen & Page Supermixed Corn a couple of times a day. As it is coming up to winter and she will go off lay, I was hoping to get them all on layers pellets in the Spring. That said, they forage all day in a large garden and have a plentiful source of worms, bugs, greens, chick weed. I also add grated carrots and cabbage leaves regularly which they devour happily. I will try the cod liver oil mixed in with some grain.

 

[chrismahon]

There's nothing wrong with your feed BR but perhaps you are right and the super mix corn is given too often. It would be good to get mum onto layers pellets well before she starts laying again. The Calcium for the eggshells is stored in and taken from their bones, so being on rearers as well, mum could be running short at the end of the season and will need to build up again. In the unlikely event if you do get thin shelled eggs in the meantime you know why. You haven't said how old they are but the babies look quite big- perhaps they will start laying in November?

 

[Marigold]

That all sounds an ideal setup for them, lucky chickens. As your pullets are around 6 months old I would start them all on layers pellets when you’ve finished up the growers. There’s not an enormous difference in the calcium content, and now the pullets are nearly pol, any danger to their kidney development as growers will have passed by now. Then you’ll know they are all getting optimum feed for the coming winter, and can stop worrying about them. If yo7 feel the weather is really bad, just keep them shut in the run, where they can stay dry - and won’t be so destructive of your garden when the grass stops growing!

 

[British Raj]

Chris, Marigold - The babies were born on Easter Sunday so 6 months old. Two of them have started laying in the last week !. Third one is still very pink-combed and not showing any signs of going into lay yet. The Mummy has laid a couple of clutches since. If anything, we had a problem with extra thick egg shells with the mummy. It was a wonder how some of these chicks hatched. One needed assistance from my daughter who effectively hatched the last of the 6 chicks after the brood left the nest when 5 were hatched ... leaving a peeping pipped egg behind. Since being on growers pellets with her chicks, this egg-shell issue has redressed itself a bit ... still on the thicker side a bit but could explain the poor feather condition. She is still moulting though.
I have enough growers pellets left for a couple of months and was a bit reluctant to give layers pellets if they are going to go off lay during winter but as you say, there is little difference. I might just go ahead and buy layers pellets next. Thanks guys.

 

[MrsBiscuit]

I just wanted to say, excellent advice from the others, it sounds to me like Mum has done her job very well, and it might just be that she is suffering a bit now. You have a garden full of lovely looking hens! I am no expert on the finer points of a dotte, but I really like the bird in the front, she has very clear and even lacing, all over it appears. Anyway, well done, you are obviously doing it right!

On another note, what is that dark purplish/pinkish shrub with all the flowers at the back?