Chicken walking low to the ground. Is she injured? (Video Included).

[Sundevill11]

Good day,

Has anyone else had their chickens walking low to the ground from time to time? I've totally inspected the chicken and do not see any external injuries. She is eating and pooping normally. Also, it does not appear to me that she is in any way egg bound. I would appreciate anyone who could help me with this. In the meanwhile I've isolated her in our quarantine crate in the garage. Thanks in advance.

 

[Chickassan]

She's prime age for her first true molt.

She is just over a year old and is fed layer pellets either in the Nutrena brand or Purina. Both have the calcium within the feed. She's not the lowest member in the flock and I think she has seniority over 2 of the other hens. We have 8 total chickens. Lastly, she has been checked for parasites and we didn't see any.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would sprinkle a crushed vitamin B complex tablet over some feed or treat (1/4 to 1/2 tablet just for her) every day, just in case she is showing a little early riboflavin deficiency. Riboflavin deficiency can cause walking on hocks and curled under toes. She looks very healthy other than the occasional squatting. I would take her out of isolation right away, since she will be lonely and can drop in the pecking order.

 

[micstrachan]

No, she does it even when we observe her from a far distance.

Understood. Coming from a person who tends to panic at the first sight of a bird acting unwell, I wouldn’t be too alarmed at this point. It could be saddle and/or feather related. Besides the occasional “low walking,” I think her body language looks good.

I would do the usual checks for crop function, poop output, feed and water intake, etc.

As a paranoid chicken mom myself, I can totally relate to you worrying and commend you for being attentive enough that you are noticing this behavior. However, I think right now a “wait and see” approach is sufficient. Just my two cents.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I agree with eggcessive... as much as I would like to believe it's just feather poke from the saddle, it was stated to have been happening before that.

Things can be so subtle in chicken, good looking out for her!

I question the roost set up... how are feathers getting plucked?

Can you take a pic of the damaged feathers without the saddle?

 

[Chickassan]

She's fine. The hen saddle is why she's doing that. She looks like she's regrowing feathers and the saddles hit touchy spots so they squat walk, you can put her back with her people.

 

[Chickassan]

I think she's molting, and the feathers coming back in are hitting touchy spots making her squat. She doesn't stay low very long like she would if she were ill or injured. I'm still going to say she's fine, just uncomfortable.

Yes, that would be correct. She has had some of the feathers on her back missing for some time now (maybe more than 2 months or so.) We felt she needed the extra protection a saddle offers with Winter coming soon. We're not sure if the other hens have been pecking at her back causing the feather loss or if it was just natural. We do not have a Rooster in the flock.

 

[Sundevill11]

Here is a more pronounced view of the squat.

 

[Sundevill11]

Thanks to everyone for their input. It is greatly appreciated.

 

[Sundevill11]

Oh, and can you share some background on why she’s in a saddle? My Margo has a spot on her back that one flockmate likes to pluck and once last year when I went to put a saddle on her, she SCREAMED and stumbled down. I held off on the saddle and she went into molt (which explained the screaming). If she is indeed heading into molt, the saddle may be super uncomfortable.

Also, Margo keeps a distance during molt and her bald spot grows back in (though once she lets her guard down, Bagheera plucks it back out).

We put a saddle on her to protect the back that has been semi-exposed for about 2 months. Because we were not sure if the feather loss was due to natural causes or from another hen pecking at her, our thought was to help cover her with Winter coming soon.