Really worried about my moulting maran..

[kathyd]

Hi

Dotty is moulting with a vengeance. She's hunched and muttering all day, and spends the whole day in the porch where it's a bit warmer. She eats when I feed her individually, but won't fight for her food with the others. She's OK with them around, but 'hides' behind things if she can, or turns her back on them. None of them is bullying her as far as I can tell. I've been slipping her bits of sardine, cheese and egg for extra protein, and grain when she'll take it. I leave her some pellets and water for if she wants them.

Now I understand some birds struggle more than others, but she's now reached the point where her legs can hardly support her. I haven't seen her sit down for about 3 days - she just stands and shakes, and tries to sleep standing up. She does presumably sleep at night in the coop because she goes to bed really early in order to take over one of the next boxes where she can lie down on her own with no-one else touching her. I've tried putting a box of wood shavings in the porch with her but she doesn't use it - it just ends up getting thrown around by the others looking for food when they come to visit her.

What can I do to help her?? She seems to be going from bad to worse at the moment and I'm really worried about her.

Thx

[Nicos]

As far as the moulting is concerned- are you boosting her proteins?

There's a thread somewhere about knitting a 'jumper' ( YUP- I'm serious)
It's usually used for ex-batts which are usually pretty bald when rescued.

[kathyd]

Hi Nicos

Sardines and cheese and egg for protein so far - hoping to get to the shops tomorrow or Thursday when I can look for mealworms.

Considered the jumper idea! But to be honest she seems so uncomfortable I'm not sure if it might make things worse if she's got things rubbing against her skin all day... Her new spines are all long and hard, and I'm sure they'd just catch and pull on things. Plus the bare skin around her rear end is beginning to look all red and chapped. This is why I'm letting her spend the day in the porch, to see if it helps her keep warm. If she's still the same tomorrow I'll see if I can wrap her in something and see how she responds.

[RichmondHens]

As long as she is getting adequate protein then she should be ok. It looks horrible but really they do get over it. As long as she has somewhere dry to shelter during the day if it is wet, and the house is clean and dry then she will be fine. I would avoid letting her sleep in the nestbox as it will quickly become a bad habit and she will continue to do it even when she is back to normal.

I have a (now over 5 yo) hen who moults every feather in one hit. She goes from fully feathered to hedgehog in just a few days. She is also one of my best layers. She undergoes a complete personality change too going from boss hen to timid trembly little thing each year and bounces back right as rain after a few weeks. I don't give her any special treatment. She's currently re-feathering and going by her previous record I expect her to be back in lay by the end of January. She's already returned to her usual bossy self giving everyone else hard pecks if they get too close!

[kathyd]

Thanks RH, that's reassuring . It's just the fact that she literally can hardly walk that's worrying me most, it's really disturbing when her legs collapse under her. Anyway, she's put herself to bed already so at least she'll be warmer and comfier now hopefully, and maybe she'll be back to bossy by the morning!

[VirginVegGrower]

Oh KathyD - you sound like me a few weeks ago. Get mealworms as they are the only thing Sagey Baby is eating at the moment. Nutridrops are supposed to give them a vitamin boost and improve appetite. It worked for Sage. Omlet had it on offer - not sure now. I also give probiotic yoghurt, oats and a grated apple to mine at the moment as she appears to like sloppy food too. Boiled rice seems to get eaten when mash isn't. I wish you well - in my thoughts

[kathyd]

Thanks for your thoughts VVG . It's like having young children all over again! At least I have an excuse for my grey hair now though . I'm going to look for mealworms when we go shopping, either tomorrow or Thursday. Don't know if I can get nutridrops here, but there are lots of lotions and potions in one or two places so I'll try to find a suitable alternative. Oats they like, but cooked as porridge? Or can I give them straight from the pack? Apples they have all over the ground, so no need to grate them. They all love boiled rice, and I used this this morning in fact to dose them with the Flubenvet - worked a treat . Don't want to 'spoil' her because I know it's a natural process, but it does seem very extreme and looks really painful - I can't help worrying. It's good to get rational advice on here though isn't it, get things in perspective a bit...

[Suechooks]

There's a childrens vitamin tonic which is very similar to Nutridrops but at the moment I can't remember the name - sorry. I'll have a look in the morning (if I remember) as it is at my allotment to be on hand if chooks need it. You may have more luck getting hold of something like that.

[VirginVegGrower]

Thanks for your thoughts VVG . It's like having young children all over again! At least I have an excuse for my grey hair now though . I'm going to look for mealworms when we go shopping, either tomorrow or Thursday. Don't know if I can get nutridrops here, but there are lots of lotions and potions in one or two places so I'll try to find a suitable alternative. Oats they like, but cooked as porridge? Or can I give them straight from the pack? Apples they have all over the ground, so no need to grate them. They all love boiled rice, and I used this this morning in fact to dose them with the Flubenvet - worked a treat . Don't want to 'spoil' her because I know it's a natural process, but it does seem very extreme and looks really painful - I can't help worrying. It's good to get rational advice on here though isn't it, get things in perspective a bit...

It's worse than having children - they at least talk and tell you where it hurts. The chicken hides it too well for my liking and comfort. I'm sure she'll be fine. I wonder if I can send you mealworms through the post. Can you not order nutridrops from a UK site like Omlet - they ship all over the world? If not I'm sure I can assist in some way, if you really want it. Google it first...
I have made the girls porridge with oats and water. At the moment though I just put oats, grated apple and live plain yoghurt in a bowl and stir. I add mealworms on top a la Heston Blumenthal flourish!
Sick hens love it.

[kathyd]

Hi Suechooks - I'm sure there must be a multivitamin option available for chickens over here, I just need to get back to the shop where I'm sure I've seen bottles of 'stuff' on the shelf above the feed - I haven't needed it before, so I didn't bother to look through them last time. But thanks for the tip - I hadn't even considered looking at children's multivitamins as a possible alternative .

Hi VVG - that's an extremely kind offer re-the mealworms, thanks . However, I'm fairly sure they'll have them amongst the wild bird food in some of the garden type shops - they seem to go in for wild bird feeding supplies big time, and I know robins and others love mealworms so... and if I get desperate, fishing is also very popular here so there must be a supplier of fresh worms (yuk yuk yuk!!) somewhere...

On a more positive note, she's woken up looking a bit less peaky this morning - it's colder outside, but less damp and a bit of sunshine. I dare say she'll flag during the day, but if she recovers with rest overnight I'm not going to panic too much about her. *Touch wood*!

[petal]

We have just had a gold brahma hen that really was not coping with her moult- she looked distinctly ex batt! We ended up having to bring her into the barn and feed mashed boiled eggs until she recovered.

[kathyd]

We have just had a gold brahma hen that really was not coping with her moult- she looked distinctly ex batt! We ended up having to bring her into the barn and feed mashed boiled eggs until she recovered.

Hi Petal

I'm glad she recovered anyway! I think you just do what seems to work at the time don't you? I have to say that we've had a nice sunny day here today, and very mild, and Dotty was so much happier it was like having a different hen around... she spent some time with the others, and sunbathed outside much of the day instead of staying in the porch. She even joined the others to eat a bit at the end of the day, and managed to sit down briefly to sleep. Don't know if it's the sun that did it, but I'm hoping for more tomorrow - best medicine of all as far as I can see!

[VirginVegGrower]

Does she stand with head hunched in like a giant puffball? Maybe on one leg, other leg tucked up? Signs they are trying to conserve energy into keeping warm. I watch out for Sage doing this, then she likes to stretch into her superman pose which apparently means they are happy and at peace...I love hens

[snakeshack]

you can buy mealworms mail order on line these people are good Bulk Mealworms

[kathyd]

Hi VVG - she does stand hunched yes, but not like a puffball because she doesn't have enough feathers to fluff up! She also doesn't stand on one leg at the moment - I think her legs are a bit weak and don't support her very well, so she naps on both legs. I agree she's trying to conserve energy into keeping warm though.

Hi snakeshack - thanks for the tip, I'll take a look at their site now. I tried buying mealworms here this morning but all I could find was a tiny pot for aquariums, and it cost me nearly 6 euros!!