Why is my hen isolating and losing feathers but still laying eggs?

It is possible the stress of chronic egg laying may be affecting her appearance and feathers. Remove any nesting boxes in the cage. If she's laying in the seed bowl, use a smaller container that she cannot sit in. Limit Camille's exposure to daylight to 8 hours or less. Use a dark cage cover or sheet to block light if necessary. Use a calcium fortified seed mix. Leave the fake eggs in the cage for at least 4 weeks.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The signs you describe are consistent with over grooming, likely from the other bird. This may be due to boredom or overly dominant nature of the cage mate. You can try to provide additional toys and perches in the cage, keep the light cycle in the room stable, and provide a nesting box. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!

Thanks for reaching out. Sitting quietly, fluffed on the bottom of the cage is not an indication of laying again. It is more probably a sign of illness and should see a veterinarian. Wheezing and respiratory clicking sounds are an indication of a respiratory infection, necessitating the need for systemic antibiotics. The second budgie, loosing feathers, could be a stress molt, but several viral disease could also be the cause. See your veterinarian. Good luck.

Poor Mrs. Star! Loss of feathers can be due to a number of things, including mites or parasites, skin issues, or even learned behaviors/stress. Checking for any signs of mites (stuff attached to the feathers, crawling bugs on the body, excessive itching, etc) can alert you to this. If you are seeing any wounds, making sure to treat them and keep Mrs. Star separate until the wound is healed is best (as other chickens are likely to peck at the exposed area.) If the feather plucking has become a learned behavior, using a chicken apron to protect the area, or an Elizabethan (cone) collar to break the habit for a few days may help the area to start to heal. Making sure all of the hens have enough space, plenty of enrichment, etc is also a good idea to help decrease stress.

This can be normal, especially if you are somewhere where it is still cold and not having a lot of daylight, or is very hot, as environmental stress can sometimes stop laying for a period. If there's been a change to your flock (adding birds, removing birds, etc) or a change to diet it can also take a few days for laying to resume. Very old and very young birds may also not lay regularly until their hormones even out (in the case of young birds). If the lack of laying continues, the comb or waddle become very pale (a sign of illness or anemia), or you see other signs of illness, a vet visit to rule out any health issues is best.

I would be concerned if it keeps happening. This could be due to an issue such as the wrong nutrition -- a good layer feed along with an additional calcium supplement should be enough nutritionally to prevent this -- or an issue with the reproductive tract itself. Older hens can develop tumors and other reproductive issues that may cause chronic egg-binding, and other underlying health issues or illnesses may as well. Younger hens may not lay consistently-sized eggs yet which could cause problems or irregular laying, which may improve over time as they get used to laying. If the problem is persisting, having a vet evaluate her is a good idea.

Hello. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Watery/runny droppings is indicative of diarrhea. Birds can get diarrhea from a number of causes, including stress, a poor diet, intestinal parasites or an infection. My guess is this may be stress related due to the egg laying. Have you changed her diet lately or given any new foods? A change in diet can also cause diarrhea. So can fruits or vegetables that haven’t been washed well to remove pesticides. Diarrhea can also be a sign of something more serious like kidney, liver or pancreatic diseases. Birds with diarrhea that doesn’t clear up within 24 hours need to be seen by the veterinarian so the problem can be diagnosed. Take Zelda in right away if you see blood in the droppings or she seems to be straining or having abdominal pain. If you do need to take Zelda to the vet, be sure to take a fecal sample with you so your veterinarian can analyze it. Bring the paper lining her cage so the veterinarian can check several samples. Any bird that is laying eggs need to have additional nutrition. This mostly means increased levels of calcium, protein and the fat-soluble vitamins-vitamin A, E, D3 and K from a maintenance diet. I suggest you speak to your vet about a vitamin supplement you can feed her. Hope this helps. Best wishes.