Hen not moving well.

KrystalRose

Chirping
5 Years
Jun 28, 2014
294
19
83
Finley, WA
I have a Buff Orp hen that is not moving very well the past 2 days it seems like her balance or leg strength is off, also today at one point she was twitching her head, almost like a nervous twitch but then she seemed to stop doing that. I have checked her eyes, mouth, ears, nose, vent, feet, legs. All look good, no mites or lice, no runny nose or anything else weird. She is eating and drinking well and has a very sweet personality. She has not started laying yet but her hips are 2 fingers apart so she is close. I have been giving her a mix of oatmeal/yogurt/garlic/vitamins the past two days to see if it is a vitamin deficiency or something. Yogurt because her butt is getting dirty, I believe because she is laying down so much. I originally thought she was having a gut problem but I saw her poo today and it was totally normal.

My new guess is: I have a rooster that has recently figured out the mating process and is horrible at it, I saw him pecking fairly hard at the back of another girls head in the process today. I am thinking now that maybe he hurt her head or back and now she is having trouble moving, otherwise is totally healthy? Is there something else I should check for or do you think that is reasonable explanation? I am thinking I need to cull him from the pack and see if she shows signs of improvement. Any thoughts?

I thought I would also mention, all my chickens have been vaccinated for mareks and cocci. Their feed is the same as it always has been, and they use chicken nipples so always clean water. I cleaned out the coop two days ago, but put down the same straw bedding I always use.
 
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Oh no, poor gal! When she twitches her head, is it like a small twitch? or more like she twists so hard it looks like her head's backwards? Sometimes they'll twitch hard like that when they have junk in their nostrils, or if they are starting to get sick.

If it were me, I'd palpate her abdomen, check for any swelling. It's possible that she could be egg-bound. You mention her butt is getting dirty, how is she walking?? I had a hen not too long ago end up with vent gleet - spent a lot of time the first few days laying down on her chest with her butt in the air...she ended up walking more a few days later, but she still waddles like an 80-year-old cowboy, and her butt still hasn't cleared up entirely yet, even with loads of probiotics and vitamins :(

It's very possible your roo may be causing her ailments, but don't pin it on him just yet and end up culling him - if it's possible, keep him seperated from the flock for a little while, maybe a week or so. See if that helps your Orp. If it does, then Sir Roo needs more practice lol :) If seperating him doesn't help your hen, then that answers that question. If you have an extra dog crate laying around, those work well; or a pen. If he has a knack for perching, clip his wings and make sure he can't jump high enough to clear a fence top, thus escaping and getting to the gals again.

Hopefully this helps a little, poor lady-ken! It's sad seeing them get ill/injured :( Good luck!!!
 
Her head twitch was small, and I only saw it the one time. I read on another post on here that it could be her nose clogged or ear mites she would be trying to shake off but her nose and ears are clear.

I have palpated her abdomen and checked her vent, I don't believe she is egg bound. Yesterday she was walking slowly with her tail pointing downwards. Today she is having more trouble walking but still is able to. She is moving in and out of the coop and making it to her water and food on her own. Mentally she seems fine, when I gave her the oatmeal treat she gobbled it right down like she normally does with treats. She was just eating from a sitting position.

I wont cull my boy just yet, he is very beautiful and kind of special to us. Unfortunately from the get go we have thought he was a little slow in the head. He is very clumsy and isn't the brightest tool in the shed, which is probably why he cannot figure out how to properly do his thing with the girls, gets frustrated and starts hitting them in the head. :( I have two other roosters, one is normal but the top boy, the other is a super gentleman. He treats the girls nice and lets them know when there are treats and saves them for them. I am thinking if this problem persists I am going to cut back to the one nice rooster. I got too many roos from the hatchery by mistake. Unfortunately their refund doesn't solve my roo problems!
 

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