Not a new behavior and not something I'm all that concerned about, just curious about potential causes. I rescued three chickens in October who were surrendered by their previous owners due to lack of interest in them after their kids went off to college. I have no information about their previous coop, run, habits, etc. and only that the two Buff Orpingtons were around 3 years old and the one Black Orpington was around 6 years old. One of the Buffs (Pancake) has since passed away (suspected ovarian cancer) but the other two (Waffle and Maple) are doing well.
Waffle, the other Buff, walks funny. She picks up her feet a little higher than usual and sets them down weird, almost like she doesn't move her toes. And she's done this ever since I got her. When she was brought to the rescue she had to have her nails clipped because they were way too long and it looks like she's going to need routine trimmings moving forwards. While their coop roost bar is a flat surface, there are other roosts around their run and she doesn't quite roost on those normally either. She keeps her little toes pointing straight out and flexes them strangely while she's sitting there. She can and will bend her toes if you pick her up or if you touch her little feet.
While I haven't experienced anything like this in chickens before, I have seen ferrets who walk sort of funny from being kept on wire-bottomed cages and wondered if this is something that can happen with chickens too? They're a funny little pair, Maple and Waffle, and it's been rewarding to see their personalities grow. When we first got them, they were pretty terrible at digging and scratching and not good at dust bathing. They're now professionals.
Waffle, the other Buff, walks funny. She picks up her feet a little higher than usual and sets them down weird, almost like she doesn't move her toes. And she's done this ever since I got her. When she was brought to the rescue she had to have her nails clipped because they were way too long and it looks like she's going to need routine trimmings moving forwards. While their coop roost bar is a flat surface, there are other roosts around their run and she doesn't quite roost on those normally either. She keeps her little toes pointing straight out and flexes them strangely while she's sitting there. She can and will bend her toes if you pick her up or if you touch her little feet.
While I haven't experienced anything like this in chickens before, I have seen ferrets who walk sort of funny from being kept on wire-bottomed cages and wondered if this is something that can happen with chickens too? They're a funny little pair, Maple and Waffle, and it's been rewarding to see their personalities grow. When we first got them, they were pretty terrible at digging and scratching and not good at dust bathing. They're now professionals.
