Kangaroo chicken.

[Tired old Rooster]

I have four pullets. I purchased them a month ago at three months old. Due to my Spanish not being great, I mistakenly believed they were all mutts, but was later informed that three of them are pure Plymouth Rock, while the fourth one is a Plymouth Rock mixed. Same Dad, different Mom's. I suspect the mutt, who is the biggest, may be as much as two weeks older than the other three. All doing great, in all respects as far as I can tell.

Now to the kangaroo issue. All of them walk normally, while foraging and thanks to pooch running by them really fast, the other day on her way back to the house after her toilet visit, I was able to see that they all do the high speed dash just fine. However, when the bunch decide to trot about twenty feet to a new bug find, one of the Plymouth Rock pullets, does a sort of jog/trot that often becomes a hop resembling a kangaroo.

Would that be a sign of a medical issue, or is she just an oddball who likes doing it that way?

 

[Quarterhorses1]

I have four pullets. I purchased them a month ago at three months old. Due to my Spanish not being great, I mistakenly believed they were all mutts, but was later informed that three of them are pure Plymouth Rock, while the fourth one is a Plymouth Rock mixed. Same Dad, different Mom's. I suspect the mutt, who is the biggest, may be as much as two weeks older than the other three. All doing great, in all respects as far as I can tell.

Now to the kangaroo issue. All of them walk normally, while foraging and thanks to pooch running by them really fast, the other day on her way back to the house after her toilet visit, I was able to see that they all do the high speed dash just fine. However, when the bunch decide to trot about twenty feet to a new bug find, one of the Plymouth Rock pullets, does a sort of jog/trot that often becomes a hop resembling a kangaroo.

Would that be a sign of a medical issue, or is she just an oddball who likes doing it that way?

Can you post a video?

 

[Tired old Rooster]

Can you post a video?

I would need a trail camera set up and loads of luck for that, I'm afraid. Just getting a decent pic is difficult.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know. The only time she isn't normal is at the trot. All other speeds are fine. Is that every time she trots or was that the only time you've seen it?

I'd inspect her as best I could, mainly checking her legs and joints to see if I felt something hot like an infection. And look at her feet, does she have bumblefoot. That's like an infected splinter on the foot. If I couldn't find anything I'd still keep an eye on her but as long as she is acting normal I'd be OK with her.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

The only time she isn't normal is at the trot. All other speeds are fine. Is that every time she trots or was that the only time you've seen it?

She only occasionally does this. looks like she is playing "hopscotch". Walks perfectly fine, runs well and I just literally five minutes ago watched her trot across the driveway in a perfectly normal fashion.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sounds like another case where chicken TV is better than anything on cable, satellite or antenna.

 

[Mrs. K]

But is 'she' a rooster? Often times a 'pullet' that is bigger than everyone else, isn't two weeks older, she's a he?

 

[Tired old Rooster]

But is 'she' a rooster? Often times a 'pullet' that is bigger than everyone else, isn't two weeks older, she's a he?

She came from a different brood, which probably hatched earlier. I cannot preclude the possibility of her being a rooster, but it seems unlikely.

 

[Frizzle and Friends]

I have four pullets. I purchased them a month ago at three months old. Due to my Spanish not being great, I mistakenly believed they were all mutts, but was later informed that three of them are pure Plymouth Rock, while the fourth one is a Plymouth Rock mixed. Same Dad, different Mom's. I suspect the mutt, who is the biggest, may be as much as two weeks older than the other three. All doing great, in all respects as far as I can tell.

Now to the kangaroo issue. All of them walk normally, while foraging and thanks to pooch running by them really fast, the other day on her way back to the house after her toilet visit, I was able to see that they all do the high speed dash just fine. However, when the bunch decide to trot about twenty feet to a new bug find, one of the Plymouth Rock pullets, does a sort of jog/trot that often becomes a hop resembling a kangaroo.

Would that be a sign of a medical issue, or is she just an oddball who likes doing it that way?

Your story reminds me of one of our girls when she was younger. I have to ask, when your pullet does the hopping, does she move forward, and does she fly normally? In the last batch of chicks that we ordered we got a White Sultan, Nevara, who seemed to struggle to figure out flying. When the other chicks would do the thing where they run and take off flying she would instead run and then start hopping in place when she tried to take off. There was never an issue with her walking, it was just when she tried to fly. Later on when she was older and starting to learn to roost, she seemed to have no control over flight directions. She would take off and go straight up, almost to the coop ceiling, and then back down. She ended up sleeping in a nest box with a Silkie, while all the other her age had been roosting for months. She did eventually figure out the roosting thing, and in the big coop we have a ladder to the roosts so I'm guessing that helps her. I never figured out what was up with Nevara, but I'm wondering if what you're seeing is similar to what happened with our girl.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

Your story reminds me of one of our girls when she was younger. I have to ask, when your pullet does the hopping, does she move forward, and does she fly normally? In the last batch of chicks that we ordered we got a White Sultan, Nevara, who seemed to struggle to figure out flying. When the other chicks would do the thing where they run and take off flying she would instead run and then start hopping in place when she tried to take off. There was never an issue with her walking, it was just when she tried to fly. Later on when she was older and starting to learn to roost, she seemed to have no control over flight directions. She would take off and go straight up, almost to the coop ceiling, and then back down. She ended up sleeping in a nest box with a Silkie, while all the other her age had been roosting for months. She did eventually figure out the roosting thing, and in the big coop we have a ladder to the roosts so I'm guessing that helps her. I never figured out what was up with Nevara, but I'm wondering if what you're seeing is similar to what happened with our girl.

This afternoon, I noticed her on top of the coop. Then took about five minutes of thought before coming down. Then came down with what I thought was a slightly hard landing, but stayed upright and walked away.

I am very much leaning towards her just being an oddball. Since she seems to be doing just fine in the whole scheme of things, I will just watch and let her be.