Chicken with head close to her chest and standing still

alovechickens

In the Brooder
May 29, 2017
14
4
17
hello i have a farm with all types of animals. I was wondering if you could help me out with one of my chickens. she is acting very very very strange. she keeps putting he head close to her chest and standing still. usually my chickens will run away from me but when i go near her she just walks away really really slowly. any ideas? im worried it might be the bird flu or something but i really hope not!! also im not sure if u know anything about goats but i just got two new baby nigerian dwarf goats who are 3 months old, they arnt eating any grain but tones of hay and other plants. any ideas as well?
thank you and hope to hear from you soon!

alovechickens
 
hello i have a farm with all types of animals. I was wondering if you could help me out with one of my chickens. she is acting very very very strange. she keeps putting he head close to her chest and standing still. usually my chickens will run away from me but when i go near her she just walks away really really slowly. any ideas? im worried it might be the bird flu or something but i really hope not!! also im not sure if u know anything about goats but i just got two new baby nigerian dwarf goats who are 3 months old, they arnt eating any grain but tones of hay and other plants. any ideas as well?
thank you and hope to hear from you soon!

alovechickens
How old is she? Is her neck downwardly positioned, or is her neck more drawn back into her shoulders, causing her to look hunched or puffed up? If she is hunched or puffed up, she may not be feeling well. I wound make sure that she is drinking well, and you can add some electrolytes and vitamins to her water. Offer her a chopped egg, along with her usual chicken feed. Adding a lot of water to some chicken feed, making it runny, will sometimes get them to eat. There are many things that can cause weakness in chickens, so check her crop to feel if it is empty, full, soft, or hard, and again in early morning when it should be empty. Look at her poops to see what color and if there is diarrhea. Check her skin over for any tiny bugs, such as lice or mites. Do you know when she laid an egg last?
 
Hi
@Top Rooster
I'm not totally convinced she is broody and even if she is, it's important to make sure the OP checks her over to ensure she is healthy. I would have expected her to be in a nest box if she is broody and they don't normally stand still as the OP describes. They either lie flattened to the ground or dash about getting something to eat and drink and perhaps a quick dust bath before returning to the nest.

@alovechickens

How old is she? It would be a good idea to isolate her in a crate so that you can monitor her food, water and poop. Eggcessive has given you good advice on examining her, so follow that and report back with more information. My gut feeling is that this chicken is sick.

As regards goats, I have no experience of them but I would not worry about them not eating hard feed (grains). They have evolved to live off mostly rough grazing and grains on a regular basis are therefore not a natural component of their diet. If they are happy and healthy on hay and greens, don't worry.
 

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