# Help with my hens!



## jessicamerrick (Jan 6, 2013)

I'm quite sure I have a Delaware, but she has stopped eating. When I bring her treats she eats like insane, but her feed hasn't been touched. She started her molt in November and hasn't laid since. Then I have an americuana who is a babe of this spring, she molted in the fall and hasn't laid since. Is thisnormal?


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Mine don't lay either when molting and take a while after to start back up. Takes a lot of energy to grow all those pretty new feathers back in. Now the days are shorter too so that makes a huge difference. My older girls are laying very little. Three of them have been molting even though its cold winter here. Silly girls chose a really lousy time to shed their old feathers!


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## jessicamerrick (Jan 6, 2013)

I'm just really worried about my Delaware not eating, the hubby says she's just spoiled, and that may be true, but I hate to see my girl not eating.


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## artsy1 (Dec 16, 2012)

ok- try this with her, dampen the food a little,normally they gobble it down like its candy- you are right to be concerned, have you checked her droppings? if she is still molting she will be quieter,as it is uncomfortable- also, can you feel her 'keel' bone,underside she will have a bone going towards her tail, i'll try to find a pic, but if she isn't eating enough it will show there by being sharp-also, have they been wormed and checked for mites?


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## jessicamerrick (Jan 6, 2013)

Thanks for the advice! I have not wormed, I've read articles on that, some say to do it, some say it isn't necessary. I'm a newbie to poultry, and don't have personal contacts who raise them, so I'm having to learn by reading.


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## Energyvet (Jul 25, 2012)

I'd be worried about moldy feed or some contamination. Try a new bag of feed.


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## Sundancers (Jun 20, 2012)

She may be just spoiled ...

I guess my question would be how many treats are you give her?


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## jessicamerrick (Jan 6, 2013)

They've been getting scratch in the morning and at night. At night (after work) they also get bread, scraps from dinner or weeds I pluck from around the yard.


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## Sundancers (Jun 20, 2012)

So she eats the bread, scraps from dinner or weeds but not the scratch ... If this is right, I would say your hubby is right.


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## fuzziebutt (Aug 7, 2012)

Scratch is ok in the winter, but it is also chicken crack. It has alot of sugar in it, and can cause weight gain and fatty liver syndrome. Scratch should be a treat, not a meal. The feed should be a layer feed, and the scraps should be sparingly. Bread also has alot of sugar in it. Check them for mites, around the vent and under the wings. And make sure they have access to clean, fresh and dry feed. In a feeder, and not on the ground. I had to learn by doing, and by reading, and with the help of wonderful chicken addicts just like us!!! Welcome to the forum!!


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## Energyvet (Jul 25, 2012)

If she's eating everything but the pellets, then she's eating and not sick. I repeat that it may be something wrong with the pellets. Are the other birds eating it? I've seen so many animals do this (dogs, cats, goats, horses, cows, rabbits). Offer different feed or crumbles or something equivalent. If she eats that, then you know it's the pellets. If she doesn't, then you know she just likes the other stuff better. Could give her meal worms and such too for protein.


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## artsy1 (Dec 16, 2012)

on worming- i worm mine twice a year- it is a necessity, not controlling parasites can kill your birds eventually, i found that out the hard way. So, what i do is use safeguard twice a year. On the scratch, it is like candy for them, helps them in winter keep them warmer, but like with kids, they can fill up on treats and not eat the healthy food. So, try cutting back on treats and see if that works. Keep us posted!


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## jessicamerrick (Jan 6, 2013)

Update on Miss Madeline- I did switch her food, when I got to the coop this afternoon she had partied like it was 1999 with it, it was everywhere and she had eaten. But....her rear is covered with poo. Do I wash her? Am I demanding for info or what? *winks*


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## fuzziebutt (Aug 7, 2012)

Yeah, wash her pastybutt (my second choice of a username) with warm water. Make sure she is dry when you put her outside so she won't get a chill. Keep an eye on her butt. My chickens didn't like the pellets, just the crumbles. Rotten little brats.


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## artsy1 (Dec 16, 2012)

might also trim her feathers, put some vaseline, might help-mine are picky,prefer crumbles but will eat the pellets


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