This is Gwen. She hasn't been herself for a couple of weeks now. The last decent egg she laid was about two weeks ago. Since then she has spent a lot of time slowly mouching about rather than darting around in her usual busy manner. I was worried that she might be egg-bound again but I now know this is not the case as she has started to lay eggs with a soft shell or indeed, no shell at all.
She has settled into a pattern of being quite under-the-weather in the morning but perking up by the end of the day. She is still eating and I've been adding 'Chicken Spice' to her food. This is like a vitamin supplement especially designed for poultry.
A bit of research on the web - there are more chicken forums than you can imagine - and I believe her to be going through a moult. This is usual, with some chickens losing just a few feathers and some shedding practically the whole lot (should this happen, I have also found a site that gives knitting patterns for chicken jumpers - no really). Apparently some birds can feel quite poorly when they are in moult and only want to sit quietly, all hunched up.
I do worry about my lovely ladies but the increase in dropped feathers makes me think there is nothing more seriously wrong with Gwen.
Did you know that it takes a lot of extra protein to grow new feathers?
With this in mind, and the lack of hard shelled eggs, we have been mixing their Layers Mash with milk, and giving them both a little bit of cheese.
Here they both are enjoying a bit of sun, at last.
I hope she gets better soon x
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