My 8 month old barred rock hen has been acting as if her legs are weak for the last few days:
1) She walks normally when foraging, but when pressed to walk faster (like when she's coming to me for a treat) she walks low to the ground with her feet well in front of her legs, sometimes slapping her feet on the ground.
2) She seems to have some slight difficulty hopping over the 2X6 board to exit the pen when going out to free range.
3) She has been roosting on the floor of the coop instead of on the roost with her two flock mates.
She is otherwise behaving normally. There are no obvious injuries. She is laying regularly (an egg each of the last two days) and is eating and drinking. Her poop looks normal. She is not acting sluggish, and doesn't appear to have lost any weight. Her two flock mates (a buff Orpington and an australorp) are walking normally.
The flock eats layer pellets and free ranges for a few hours every day. The weather has been dry, with nights in the 30s and days in the 50s. The coop (3X5 feet) and run (5x8 feet) are lined with pine shavings.
Any ideas? Other forum posts have linked the funny walk with being egg bound, but she is laying regularly. Am I just being a Nervous Nellie (chicken keeping is new to me)?
1) She walks normally when foraging, but when pressed to walk faster (like when she's coming to me for a treat) she walks low to the ground with her feet well in front of her legs, sometimes slapping her feet on the ground.
2) She seems to have some slight difficulty hopping over the 2X6 board to exit the pen when going out to free range.
3) She has been roosting on the floor of the coop instead of on the roost with her two flock mates.
She is otherwise behaving normally. There are no obvious injuries. She is laying regularly (an egg each of the last two days) and is eating and drinking. Her poop looks normal. She is not acting sluggish, and doesn't appear to have lost any weight. Her two flock mates (a buff Orpington and an australorp) are walking normally.
The flock eats layer pellets and free ranges for a few hours every day. The weather has been dry, with nights in the 30s and days in the 50s. The coop (3X5 feet) and run (5x8 feet) are lined with pine shavings.
Any ideas? Other forum posts have linked the funny walk with being egg bound, but she is laying regularly. Am I just being a Nervous Nellie (chicken keeping is new to me)?
