Drooping Wings

[Blarneyeggs]

i have an EE hen, she is walking around with her wings drooped so low that she is tripping on her left primaries. She is eating, drinking and scratching about. She moves slower than the rest of the flock and no longer roosts high in the run with her hatch mates. Her weight is good, a look-over showed no signs of obvious trauma other than she does not seem able to control her wings, when I tucked them up, they fell at her sides again. She is 15 mos old and I'm not sure if she's laying anymore.

Are there any diseases that cause this problem? I did just put a new cockerel in this house, maybe he injured her? She does have broken feathers on her back.

 

[Haunted55]

i have an EE hen, she is walking around with her wings drooped so low that she is tripping on her left primaries. She is eating, drinking and scratching about. She moves slower than the rest of the flock and no longer roosts high in the run with her hatch mates. Her weight is good, a look-over showed no signs of obvious trauma other than she does not seem able to control her wings, when I tucked them up, they fell at her sides again. She is 15 mos old and I'm not sure if she's laying anymore.

Are there any diseases that cause this problem? I did just put a new cockerel in this house, maybe he injured her? She does have broken feathers on her back.

Couple of things come to mind...have you checked to see if she is egg bound? Mites? Pictures would be great if you could post some.

Since she is moving slower than the rest, the roo is going to 'catch' her more often than the others. You might want to separate her out from him until you can figure out what is going on with her.

 

[Blarneyeggs]

Thank you.. I didn't see any mites, she's holding her wings a smidgen higher this morning. I'll try to post a picture.

 

[Blarneyeggs]

 

[Haunted55]

How about red skin around the vent area? To the best of my knowledge, your hen should still be laying at 15 months. Mine are, at 26 months, everyday.

A few questions for you...what is their feed? Were they vaccinated for Marek's? When was the last worming of your flock? Is there any sign of a respiratory issue? What are the daytime temps where you are? Treats? Any odd or off smell with their feed? Clumping of the feed? There are a lot of things that can cause this, including a roo who is over zealous in his courtship. Without more info I can't even make a guess. I know you need to watch and see if she is laying and if not you may have to find out why. Being egg bound or internal laying can cause 'off' behavior. You may want to try and worm with Safeguard, whole flock and then start with warm, warm baths for her and maybe even a calcium suppliment. The not laying concerns me at her age.