Chicken not walking much, laying down mostly

[chickenherder26]

Edit: here is the Youtube link for the video:

We noticed one of our chickens was laying down a lot, had her tail down, and was walking unusually at the end of November. She is almost 5 years old and has been healthy up until about a month and half ago, when this started. I don't think she had been laying eggs for a while even in summer. I'll attach a video which shows what's going on, its in a zip file because I couldn't attach an mp4 file; it's from Dec 17th. She is still alert, has a good appetite, and has normal poop. We give her mash and water in a separate location away from the rest of the flock twice a day (we're at work and school during the day). Otherwise she is with the flock. We also gave her a calcium pill daily for a week which didn't seem to help. We've been giving her a Vitamin B complex 1/2 pill daily.

She seems to be getting weaker, and no longer walks around much, choosing to lay on the floor of the coop, even at night. She can't get up to the roost, and sleeps on the floor. We considered that it could be an injury but haven't noticed anything unusual with the bottom of her feet, or her legs, or her belly.
Her food is regular layer pellets but we don't think she's been able to get to the feeder herself; plus we have a treadle feeder that she wouldn't be able to operate in her current state. The other chickens are healthy and have no concerns. We don't easily have access to a vet and I've tried doing searches on this but we're just wondering if anyone has any other ideas.

 

[azygous]

To post a video to BYC, post it first to YouTube. Then copy the URL and post that in the comment window, and it will automatically embed and we can all then view it.

At age five, it's possible she could have a reproductive infection or cancer of the oviduct. These are very common. But there could be a more benign cause of her weakness, but you would need to watch her interact with the others to determine it.

A chicken can become weak when they are low on the pecking order and are hesitant to compete at the feeder. This causes starvation and weakness. Special feedings would be in order, cooked egg, rice, tofu, etc. Put a teaspoon of sugar in her water and dip her beak to get her interested. This will boost her energy and get her eating again.

It's important to observe her and see if she's being bullied. There is a system to correct that if you find this is her problem.https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

 

[chickenherder26]

To post a video to BYC, post it first to YouTube. Then copy the URL and post that in the comment window, and it will automatically embed and we can all then view it.

At age five, it's possible she could have a reproductive infection or cancer of the oviduct. These are very common. But there could be a more benign cause of her weakness, but you would need to watch her interact with the others to determine it.

A chicken can become weak when they are low on the pecking order and are hesitant to compete at the feeder. This causes starvation and weakness. Special feedings would be in order, cooked egg, rice, tofu, etc. Put a teaspoon of sugar in her water and dip her beak to get her interested. This will boost her energy and get her eating again.

It's important to observe her and see if she's being bullied. There is a system to correct that if you find this is her problem.https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

Thanks! We got the video posted properly. She does have a good appetite and eats well when we give her mash, separately from the others, twice a day; as well as water. I do wonder about hydration because we have a couple nipple waterers but I am not sure if she uses them on her own during the day. She drinks water from a bowl when she eats her mash. Sometimes gets treats like sunflower seeds or dried corn and she likes that. Do you think she still needs the special feedings?
She has never been bullied and in fact, even now the others don't bother her. They just walk around her if she is laying in their way.
I suspect that it is something internal, she is an Austra White so having that leghorn heritage could predispose her to this sort of thing, couldn't it?

 

[azygous]

You mention that you've been concerned that she may not be getting enough hydration due to the nipple waterers. I would focus on that as her symptoms do follow what we'd see if a chicken is not drinking enough - weakness and unsteady gait. This is treatable. The possible cancer and infection diagnoses are not treatable.

Several years ago when I switched to nipple waterers, I noticed some of my chickens were not enthusiastic about the nipples. I gave them plenty of time to adjust, but at some point, I was not willing to give it to chance that all of them were drinking as they should.

Since it gets hot here and also below freezing, as it does where you are, I was concerned with the nipples leaking water onto their feet and causing frostbite, as well as not hydrating enough in summer. So to kill two brides with one stone, I bought some large rubber dog bowls and placed them on the ground under the nipples. In addition to the nipples, I keep the rubber bowls full of clean water summer as winter.

As it turns out, most of my chickens are supremely spoiled and lazy and prefer to drink out of the bowls while only a few like to use the nipples. Since chickens appreciate having options, and since I love my chickens, I indulge them with these choices. It also means I get to have the peace of mind knowing they are getting all the water they need as well as the nipples not dripping on their feet and freezing them.