chicken walking funny

Hi all,

I am pretty new to all of this. We have 14 chickens, about 12 weeks old. A light brahma hen was walking funny tonight. She looked like a duck. She seemed able to move around fine, but was not walking at her full height---keeping her knees bent and belly close to the ground. I did manage to pick her up. It was obvious that she had been taking a dust bath in the firepit--she was covered with ashes and seemed damp. (it did rain last night, but not all day). A few minutes later she was up and walking normally. Is this anything to worry about. We do have a couple of roosters that are starting to grab at the hens. Could that have had something to do with this. BTY.....the roosters are on their way out very soon............

Thanks!

Sounds like she was just doing that after her dust bath, but just in case could you answer the questions in the second sticky post in this forum (only answer them into this thread), please? That will give us a little more information (specifically be very detailed about diet and her weight as in how she feels - very heavy, etc). The more information we have, the more likely we are to answer your question correctly. Thanks! I look forward to your reply.

okay, here's a little more info

-I'm guessing she weighs around 5#? maybe a little less.
-no signs of trauma
-drinks water and eats Dumor 15% Grower Finisher Poultry Feed and has large penned in yard for the day, until we are home for the evening and then we let them out to the main yard.
-coop is an old converted play house with pine shavings(big bag we purchase at Tractor Supply)
-this morning she seems fine. And, my son says he has seen other hens do this at times, so maybe it is just from the dust bath?

Thanks for your input.

Thanks for the info! By weight - I meant more how she feels. Does she feel heavy to you - does her keel stick out like a Y, or more like a V (her breast bone and under her body)?

The feed - that seems a pretty low protein for a grower - to me. However, sometimes in a heavily bodied bird being TOO heavy too quick can also make them have these symptoms. It's something to rule out, even if it's not the most likely possibility (which I'm putting it low on probabilities).

I would think it's the dust bath. At this age, it's not going to be any laying issues. (Sometimes the "penguin walk" in laying hens means laying issues.) But if she does it again, I'd consider treating her with riboflavin or vitamins B as it can sometimes be a nutritional deficiency. Using brewers yeast on the food or a vitamin B complex can help. The next symptom (were it this) would be the toes curling inwards and the bird walking on its hocks (elbows).

However, if she's very very heavy and fat, sometimes that means they have too much weight for their bone structure. That can be either just too much feed (usually more in broilers) or a lack of calcium. I'd make sure the label on your feed contains vitamin D3 in some form (cholecalciferol), and a ratio of 2:1 calcium (max) to phosphorus. Then I'd also make sure, if this is the case, to not feed a great deal of grains - stick to 95% the complete feed, and if it's weight withdraw their feed for part of the day.

But personally I'm thinking it's probably just a funky after-bath behavior. Just watch out for the other things. I'm staying subscribed to this post, so if anything changes, have this post bookmarked and just reply here. It'll bump it back to the front page again and notify those subscribed that it's been updated. : )

Thank you so much for all of this info! I haven't seen any odd walking, so I'm thinking that it was just from the dust bath too. Everything seems normal now with all of them.

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YAY! Well now at least if something happens, you have some more information to deal with it.

I have one walking like this as well. She is 1 of 20 chickens all about 11 weeks old. She does not feel any heavier than the others. I have checked her for bumble foot. I have completed inspected her and I find nothing. They free range 6-10 hrs a day. I feed them Dumors starter/grower at 20% protein. The coop floor is a layer of hay over TSC brand pine shavings, which I change every Wednesday faithfully starting with a thin layer of barn lime. She eats and drinks well. I would think if it was a vitamin issue all 20 chicks would be affected? She seems to trip a lot as well.

I just noticed one of my girls doing this too!She is about 4months old,and was walking perfectly normal this morning. Ichecked her feet for injuries and all looks good. I'm worried, she hasn't started laying yet.Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Marinemama1974 said:

I just noticed one of my girls doing this too!She is about 4months old,and was walking perfectly normal this morning. Ichecked her feet for injuries and all looks good. I'm worried, she hasn't started laying yet.Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

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If she is eating/drinking and pooping fine,then it could be an indication she is going to start laying(is her comb/wattle darker)soon. Keep an eye on her for any unusual symptoms.

She doesn't have a comb/wattle really but is eating and drinking as normal. She has been more aggresive then normal for the past week, challenging the others and jumping feet first at the"bossy" hen I have.