HELP: Bantam chicken is not walking properly and has reduced in size!

[Jackster123]

Hello there,

In our garden we have free-range bantam hens. However, one of these chickens seemingly has gone down in size and is moving around by crouching. As i am the one who gives food out to them, she comes up to me when she sees me. She is also shivering at times. When i read about egg binding, it was rather worrying because i saw shivering around her vent too. Her feathers are a bit messy too - some entire feathers are laying around.

I don’t think the hens fight each other.

I’ve tried to find the cause online, but i still have doubts.



I’ll post an image in a bit

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello there,

In our garden we have free-range bantam hens. However, one of these chickens seemingly has gone down in size and is moving around by crouching. As i am the one who gives food out to them, she comes up to me when she sees me. She is also shivering at times. When i read about egg binding, it was rather worrying because i saw shivering around her vent too. Her feathers are a bit messy too - some entire feathers are laying around.

I don’t think the hens fight each other.

I’ve tried to find the cause online, but i still have doubts.



I’ll post an image in a bit

Welcome to BYC.

How old is she?
What type of food/treats do you normally feed?
Do you provide oyster shell free choice?
Any photos? A video of the crouching would be good as well.


If you are seeing feather loss, then she may be molting. During molt, the comb does shrink a bit and become paler, a hen can also look like she is reducing in size due to feather loss. Check her over and see if there are any pin feathers coming in. If you are experiencing cold weather, she may be a bit chilly as well.

Offer her some poultry vitamins in her water and some extra protein like egg, tuna, mackerel or meat.

Keep us posted.

 

[Jackster123]

sorry for not responding! I don't exactly remember which chicken i was talking about haha, but i've realised that some of our chickens had passed away from red mite infestation, i'm most certain of it. If only i had known then...