- Aug 1, 2014
- 7
- 2
- 9
This is Igly. She is one of a flock of five EE's. As you can see from the photos, Igly is rather crooked. Her tail feathers point in a 90% angle to her body. When she runs she sort of hop/skips. Her right wing is much lower than her left. Has anyone seen this condition in a chicken before? I fear she may have some difficulty when she starts laying.
Her family history.
I bought her and her sisters on July 1, from a fellow who built hen-pens and gave six chicks with each purchase. This year he had more chicks than built hen-pen. They were about 7 or 8 weeks old when the came to live with us. The condition they had been in was stressed. In a pen build for six chickens there were 30 mid sized chickens. Our girls all came with their backs pecked of feathers.
Very quickly they all grew their feathers back except one named Rusty. She had very little energy and laid down frequently. Every time she laid down the others came over and started pecking her back. An article on this site lead me to aprons and a pattern. I made one of an old stained napkin. (nice thick material and only needed to sew the open edges). With some TLC and six weeks of cover she has recovered an looks great.
Our girls are in a large paddock during the day. During the night they are in a predator proof (we hope) enclosure. In the evening when we get home from work the ladies come out and free range. They do not go far and are often under foot begging for treats.
