~5 week old Barred Rock: Weak legs/Loss of Balance

[Jx2inNC]

Posted in my personal chicken(s) thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=4254176#p4254176

No sickness appears obvious.
The chicken is pretty bright eyed, even talkative as normal, and doesn't try to sleep constantly like some sick chickens I've read about with similar symptoms.
After I brought it in last night it appears to use the bathroom just fine (more than I thought it would actually) and it looks the normal brown with white on it (urea, etc?).
The bird is very alert. I didn't see any lice when I checked under its feathers, from what I could see, and its legs look just fine for the most part. The toes almost seem to have no strength in them 90% of the time. But when I pick it up off the ground, it will squeeze tighter a little bit, but not like the others.

I'm thinking that the chickens sleeping in a smaller area until a night ago when I moved them out to the coop could have been it.
They pile on top of each other and sleep, and I started noticing the chicken staying on the ground more than it ever would before (it used to be one of the first to say hey and check you out.

So for illness I'm not getting many clues.
Besides the chicken standing up and walking, I don't see much out of the ordinary for chickens.
I'll try to keep it in until I see some change in strength or recovery.
Any ideas on problems?
Ligament strain or something?
Illness in disguise?

Thanks!

 

[Jx2inNC]

PS - When I brought it in, I let it eat as much as it would and it drank quite a bit of water.
This morning the water was all gone.

Maybe it was just a minor injury +/- some dehydration, etc.
When I get a chance to reassess I will post back up.

 

[Jx2inNC]

Update:

I kept her in a couple of days and got some vitamins, electrolytes, and some Sulfamet in her.
Nothing seemed to change as she acted normal other than the walking part.
I got the feeling she should go back out with the others.
It has been a week or so since I put her out there and she is walking much, much better...maybe even completely normal.

Not to mention, she was the first bird to fly up to my 2nd highest set of roosts as well, probably 2-3'+ taller than her. I'd say she is doing well, along with enjoy the occasional snack she finds in my fingers when I visit.

 

[Andi]

I'm glad to hear she's doing so well! Its so nice that you're giving her the extra TLC that she needed. Hopefully she will continue to get stronger.

 

[Jx2inNC]

I appreciate it.
This will help us for the future. My gut instinct said nothing was really wrong with her as far as illness, particularly because her behavior was almost right in line with what it normally is. Not visually seeing her eat often (because I didn't stand there and watch long enough) and the occasional running poo got my attention and probably fueled my speculation more than necessary.
I probably didn't need to pull her out from the group, but I'm glad I did to be safe and she did great.
If this were to happen again, I'd probably look much more for behavioral signs from the get go.