I am worried my chickens are sick?

[katebrown90]

I am quite new to chicken keeping and all my chickens are still quite young, only a couple of months old. The past couple of days they have been freaking me out a bit and I'm not sure if I'm overthinking or if there is something wrong with them. I have only noticed this today and yesterday but in the mornings when I've let them out to free range, as they're pecking at the ground a couple of them will have a drooping/sagging wing on one side and eventually fall down to that side with their leg off to the side and peck laying down for a minute or so before getting back up and it happening again. They do it on alternately both sides, with both wings. Three thoughts I've had are: they are trying to hoard the area around them by laying on it and not letting the other birds peck near them(when the little roo does it he also has all his neck feathers puffed out), they are trying to simultaneously bathe in the morning sun and peck or, they are having balance/nervous system problems because of a deficiency or illness. I will also mention I took one bird out and have him inside getting some TLC day before yesterday because of a limp and being very lethargic/laying around a lot. This bird is doing better but I'm worried because all these things have started happening within the same few days. Any advice is greatly appreciated! Is this a normal chicken behavior? It seems to only be happening in the morning when I first let them out.

 

[GitaBooks]

Yes, chickens can certainly appear to be dying when they do this. But don't worry, they are just sun bathing.

However, do keep an eye on them. Make sure they are getting vitamins and don't have any parasites.

Best of luck!