Hen with very thin quills and missing feathers and anemic

[hayley3]

I am at a loss as to what is wrong with my bird.
She has lost a lot of weight, looks anemic and has feather loss that I have never seen before.
I looked for lice but I see nothing but I live alone and have no one to actually hold her.

Any ideas? How to figure this out?

Thanks

 

[BarnyardChaos]

If you pick her up at night off the roost, she'll be easier to manage. You can put a small cloth or bag over her head, and she'll be still. I've also laid my birds on their back in my lap or on a table, with the head tucked between my elbow and my side - and have both hands free to do health care and checks.

The feather loss looks to me like old, bedraggled feathers that she just needs to molt away and replace. How old is she? How do your other chickens treat her? Has she been eating and drinking regularly? How long since she laid an egg? Have you wormed her?

 

[hayley3]

If you pick her up at night off the roost, she'll be easier to manage. You can put a small cloth or bag over her head, and she'll be still. I've also laid my birds on their back in my lap or on a table, with the head tucked between my elbow and my side - and have both hands free to do health care and checks.

The feather loss looks to me like old, bedraggled feathers that she just needs to molt away and replace. How old is she? How do your other chickens treat her? Has she been eating and drinking regularly? How long since she laid an egg? Have you wormed her?

I've had chickens since 1994. My other SLW was 14 when she passed away. Last November I moved to the city....I had 7 chickens, but my neighbors chickens hopped the fence so really I have more hens than I want...13 to be exact. The 14 yr old SLW was her best friend and she died in June. Bella, the one that is sick is the alpha chicken. She's only 4 or 5 years old. The very pale comb and the weight loss tells me something serious is going on. I wormed everyone and treated everyone with Corid a few months back and she has no poop issues. It's hard to tell if she's laying with 12 hens and a rooster. She was a fat hen the last time I picked her up and today when I did, I was very upset at how thin she is. I just brought her in and she gets very upset. I looked online at what lice look like but I see nothing that looks like like...except those ravaged quills, the very pale comb and the weight loss.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Just a thought, but I know chickens' skin is very sensitive during molt. Could be she doesn't like you holding her due to that.
As for why she's so thin and anemic, I couldn't say. So sorry, hope you find out what's wrong and she gets better soon.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hayley, is she starting to molt?

Do you know if she's been laying eggs recently?
Feel her abdomen for bloat or fluid. With her getting thin and lethargic, I wonder if she's starting to have some reproductive problems.

 

[hayley3]

Hayley, is she starting to molt?

Do you know if she's been laying eggs recently?
Feel her abdomen for bloat or fluid. With her getting thin and lethargic, I wonder if she's starting to have some reproductive problems.

I do have a few hens molting. But I have never seen such a thin feather quill before and she never looked this bad when molting. Normally when molting their quills are still normal size, I thought. I do not know if she's laying eggs...with 12 hens it's not easy to monitor. And she doesn't act lethargic, but she was probably a 6lb hen and now I can feel her breast bone so she's lost MORE than half of her weight. I did manage to spray her this morning with the Permectrin I bought from Premier. I mixed 1 tsp in a quart of water. I did notice one of my other hens molting though. I have had trouble getting them a dust bathing area they would use. I finally spent $50 and bought a feed trough to put dirt in and they do seem to like it. HOWEVER, if I had lice/mites, wouldn't the other hens look bad and scruffy too? I have a few that look beautiful.

 

[hayley3]

Just a thought, but I know chickens' skin is very sensitive during molt. Could be she doesn't like you holding her due to that.
As for why she's so thin and anemic, I couldn't say. So sorry, hope you find out what's wrong and she gets better soon.

Thanks...I worried about her losing her friend...I had never seen such a close bond before with two hens...I'm sure that isn't it but it makes you wonder.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm not sure what's going on with the feather quill.
Just curious, did you use Fenbendazole (Safeguard) or another dewormer recently when she may have been in molt? Fenbendazole is known to affect feather quality in molting bird according to vet manuals, etc., but have yet to see what an example of that affect is. I wonder, so just curious.

The only thing I know to do would be to check her over well. Sounds like you have. See that her crop is emptying and that's she's eating/drinking. A little extra protein (egg, fish, meat) along with poultry vitamins a couple of times a week may be beneficial to her.

 

[hayley3]

I'm not sure what's going on with the feather quill.
Just curious, did you use Fenbendazole (Safeguard) or another dewormer recently when she may have been in molt? Fenbendazole is known to affect feather quality in molting bird according to vet manuals, etc., but have yet to see what an example of that affect is. I wonder, so just curious.

The only thing I know to do would be to check her over well. Sounds like you have. See that her crop is emptying and that's she's eating/drinking. A little extra protein (egg, fish, meat) along with poultry vitamins a couple of times a week may be beneficial to her.

I used Valbazen but it was probably in March. I really should right that stuff down. She may have been sick and then started molting. I did read "somewhere" that lice/mites eat the keratin of the quills so maybe that's why her quills are so thin but everyone else is okay (except for one other bird who had vent gleet when I rescued her). And she's like a feather pillow when you pick her up...just little tufts of feather bits floating everywhere. If she makes it I will be surprised but I will make her some scrambled eggs, good idea there!

 

[hayley3]

I made her two scrambled eggs and she ate about 2/3rds. She still eats well.