Any ideas on a diagnosis?

[Wyorp Rock]

Well, I bet that is dried egg on her.

Have you ever applied egg whites to your face as a peel? I might be telling my age!
If you have, then think about how that feels when it dries - it becomes tight and is sort of just not comfy feeling. Couple that with egg yolk and you have a sticky (maybe waxy) feel on the skin and feathers. I still wonder if she thinks she's got something on her and she's creeping to avoid it.

I had a hen years ago that came out of the coop walking odd like she was trying to cautiously get out of something. Like when you walk into a huge spider web, you feel like it's clinging to you everywhere. I thought, oh goodness...she's sick. Nope. Someone had pooped a huge cecal poop on her back and it was stuck on but good! She was having none of it. Cecal poop does not come off very easy, she was not one that liked to be handled - we had a good time

 

[TJAnonymous]

Well, I bet that is dried egg on her.

Have you ever applied egg whites to your face as a peel? I might be telling my age!
If you have, then think about how that feels when it dries - it becomes tight and is sort of just not comfy feeling. Couple that with egg yolk and you have a sticky (maybe waxy) feel on the skin and feathers. I still wonder if she thinks she's got something on her and she's creeping to avoid it.

I had a hen years ago that came out of the coop walking odd like she was trying to cautiously get out of something. Like when you walk into a huge spider web, you feel like it's clinging to you everywhere. I thought, oh goodness...she's sick. Nope. Someone had pooped a huge cecal poop on her back and it was stuck on but good! She was having none of it. Cecal poop does not come off very easy, she was not one that liked to be handled - we had a good time

Never used eggs for a facial but I MIGHT have used some (along with avocado, honey, and coconut oil) for a hair mask just last night.... And even though I thoroughly washed my hair afterwards, my husband said I smelled "funny" this morning, like a wet dog. Needless to say, I washed my hair again this morning....

I suppose it is possible that she just feels like something is on her head and she's trying to duck out of it... But she's been doing the weird walk and droopy tail for at least a week that I've noticed. Hard to say if she's done it every day because I have 65 chickens and don't always notice. Plus I didn't have time to catch her when I first saw her doing it.

I will wash her in the morning and then watch her behavior closely tomorrow. No eggs to eat in the house so we should be able to tell within a few days. I'll keep giving her the calcium as a precaution.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I'm pretty sure that whatever is going on with this girl, she doesn't feel well.

I took her out of the crate this morning and she fought a little bit but weakly. I petted her in my lap and she got very still but definitely alert. Not sleepy. She rolled onto her side a bit and stretched her wing out to hold herself up. If I petted her sides, she clucked at me softly but didn't whenever I petted her back, tail, or head. I offered her meal worms and she didn't want any. Also odd. Her bowl shows signs of eating as does her poop. I carefully checked her crop. I felt food in there but I really had to probe for it. She definitely isn't eating MUCH. I will check her crop again this evening to see if it's fuller.

She never once tried to stand up or leave my lap even when my big, fluffy cat came up to sniff her. She was very alert but didn't try to move.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Were you able to get Calcium into her?

I'd work on the Calcium and see that she's staying hydrated, it wouldn't hurt to get 1/4 tablet B-Complex into her too.
Would you say her legs are non-functional like she's becoming paralyzed?

 

[TJAnonymous]

Were you able to get Calcium into her?

I'd work on the Calcium and see that she's staying hydrated, it wouldn't hurt to get 1/4 tablet B-Complex into her too.
Would you say her legs are non-functional like she's becoming paralyzed?

Yes, I've been giving her the calcium every day. I have also been putting nutri-drench in her water.

Her legs aren't paralyzed. She does stand and walk around her crate a bit. She just didn't want to stand while I was holding her but she also didn't want to sit normally either. She rolled onto her side a bit. I assumed that it was because she didn't want her belly against anything. If I petted her head, back, or tail, she didn't make a sound but if I gently petted her along either side (either over or under her wings), she clucked softly. She seemed to have some general discomfort about her that I couldn't pinpoint.

 

[TJAnonymous]

After 5 days of giving her calcium citrate, I still didn't see anything so I let her go back to the flock.

This morning I noticed she was doing it again. I recorded her this time.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Poor girl

I'd be inclined to say it's something reproductive or possibly she's been injured somehow and there's a bit of discomfort now and again. She straightens up, but then slumps again.
Sometimes all we can do is monitor them, see that they are eating/drinking well, pooping, etc. Give supportive care as needed.