Is my chicken moulting or sick

[senna]

Hi everybody, I need some advice , again! I have a bird who is approx 3 yrs old, she is a Loman brown as far as I know. She has gone a bit off colour this week, just standing around a bit puffed up looking sorry for herself, she has stopped laying and is losing some feathers on her neck and chest. I got 3 of these birds back in September and they have laid eggs all through the winter, they did not moult in the autumn, she is eating and drinking ok but does seem a little thin, droppings are reasonable. I introduced 3 new birds and a cockeral about 2 weeks ago, but they have a separate house but share the same large enclosure. Any idea's could it be stress or is she moulting. :?

 

[Davidd]

hello, i think she is unwell- have you checked for lice/redmite? i would seperate her and put her somewhere warm and dry- then you can tell how much she is eating drinking etc- check her over for bugs and powder her and then just keep an eye on her- does she have a runny nose? sneezing? normal droppings? bubbling eyes?
any sighns of illness? regards, David

 

[Tim]

Yes, I would suspect sickness too - it's not a common time to moult although it can happen at strange times.

 

[senna]

Hi, No sign of illness at all, no sneezing etc or mites, she is a bit thin but I don't think she is moulting as no new feathers seem to be appearing, if I seperate her will she be accepted back ok, her droppings are a bit small but still reasonably solid and her appetite appears good. Just a bit off a mystery. regards Senna

 

[Tim]

Hi Senna,

It could be the others have pecked at the feathers - sometimes this happens, more often to a cockerel where a bird will take a fancy to pecking at a certain area and peck at the feathers. Some of my Orps seem to do this from time to time for no apparent reason.

I wouldn't rule out a partial moult - if she didn't moult over the winter, she might be going through a partial moult now. It takes older birds longer to moult. Sometimes there will be bare patches before you see any signs of re-growth.

I would only remove her if she gets sick - otherwise she will need to be re-introduced to the pecking order which will cause more stress on the flock.

Tim