Barred Rock seems crippled

[chickfan]

Last night and today, our BR (or at least part BR...was giving to us as a chick earlier this year) is having trouble walking. Her legs don't want to hold her up...I saw her flapping her wings to try to walk without falling. She will take a few steps, then go a step or two backwards as if trying to break a fall, and then just sits down on her tail, still upright, with feet in front of her. She is eating...I don't know if she is laying yet or not (we have 25 hens) but I did try to see if she might be egg bound and didn't feel anything. She has really big feet and her toenails are pretty long. I wondered if the nails would affect her walking? Last night after she was in her coop, she stayed on the floor rather than getting on the roost with the others....at least that was the case when I last checked. Don't know what happened during the night.
Does anyone have an idea of what the problem could be? Her feet and legs look good....no mites or bumblefoot or whatever some chickens get.
Thanks for any suggestions! I have no idea what to check for. Hopefully there will be a picture with this post, but if not, I did try!

 

[Buff Hooligans]

That photo is a very descriptive pic of the problem. I think the problem is common and there has to be someone on here that has seen their girl like that. Can anybody chip in here?

 

[chickfan]

Thanks for the reply. I so hope it is a common problem. I was so excited to get two BR's after reading about Barbara (LOL!) and I sure would hate to lose this one.
I'm not swift at posting pictures, so I'm glad this one came through. I guess I need to clean my lens on the camera though!

 

[chkn]

Has your chicken been drinking?

Sorry.... It seems like egg binding takes on some different symptoms. Are any of them laying yet? I had a hen that couldn't stand and couldn't keep her head up that was egg bound. She didn't stumble back and forth but the symptoms came on very abruptly.

 

[chickfan]

I have no indication that she is laying yet. At least I haven't seen her in one of the nest boxes. I do find eggs on the cement where they hang out a lot, and others here and there, but not too many. And the ones I find are all very small, as if they have come from some of our smaller chickens.
If she has been drinking, she hasn't confessed. I'll ask her. LOL She does stagger as if she were drunk, now that you mention it!
I've never had one that was egg bound, but I would think I could feel it couldn't I? I'll go check her again.....
Thanks!

 

[OregonChickenGal]

She may have hurt herself flying down from her perch. I would separate her to a small crate, and see if she gets better over time. After checking her over of course.

 

[chickfan]

Excellent advice. I hadn't thought of that. I have a big cage I can put her in. The openings are not secure though...a raccoon could stick a hand in there easily enough.
What do chicken mites look like? I was just holding her, and came in to see a tiny thing crawling on my arm...looked like a white body with a black head....very tiny. Could that be a mite? I'll try to google for a picture of one. I'm putting some DE in a plastic container right now, so I can sprinkle some on her. In the meantime, I need to know if that could make her sick if she has them. We've had chickens out here for 1 1/2 years, and I've never seen anything on any of them.

 

[OregonChickenGal]

If she has alot of mites they can make her sick. But it looks like to me that maybe she injured herself somehow. If she has mites, dust her with Sevin 5% dust. Dust around the back of the neck area, under her wings, stomach, back and vent area. Just don't get it in her face. Sevin 5% works great. Kills them dead! Maybe you could put the cage into your garage so predators can't get to her.

 

[chkn]

A big infestation could make them anemic. She could be weak and disoriented from anemia.

 

[chkn]

You know I had a chick that got awkward and off balance and had to sit down a lot. I figured it was a vitamin deficiency so I changed the feed and she improved. The feed I had been giving didn't say specifically that it was a starter food so I got something that did. So maybe there's some calcium or protein or something that is missing here. What are you feeding them?