3 1/2 year-old hen dragging butt, having trouble walking, lethargic

yeqotz

Hatching
9 Years
Jul 24, 2010
2
1
9
La Honda, CA
Hi, all--

For the past week, my 3 1/2 year-old Rhode Island Red hen has been walking in a very stilted manner, often dragging her butt on the ground as she clomps along. She's also been lethargic, and is having trouble jumping up onto her favorite roosting spots (in fact, we had to lift her into the coop last night).

She did have a lot of feces (all "normal"--no blood) caked on her butt feathers, but we washed that all off, and it hasn't built up again. Her vent looked a little pink, but not red. She lets us palpate her belly just fine, and it doesn't look distended or enlarged.

She's eating and drinking in normal quantities, but we've had to raise the dishes because bending over seems difficult for her. She just sits in the run these days, not free-range foraging as she used to.

She stopped laying about six months ago, so I doubt she's egg-bound. Any other suggestions?

Many thanks!
Megan
 
Inspect her for lice/mites, especially around the vent area. You can trim her feathers and fluff around her rear end, so she'll have a "clear shot" to the ground. I also recommend that you worm her with valbazen or safeguard.
 

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