Hi folks--
I have a lovely 11-week old Lavender Orpington pullet (Princess Kay).
She gave me a bit of a scare early on when she was just a week or two old, not seeming able to stand for more than a minute at a time. I splinted her for splay leg, as well as gave her extra supplements (poultry cell, poultry booster). She did perk up and seemed much more mobile. But I have been noticing that she seems to lie down much more than her flockmates. She'll be up and wandering around with the others, then will lie down. Her sisters will oftentimes lie down with her for a while, then get back up and continue scraping around.
I would say this has been an ongoing issue for the last several weeks-- as we've been transitioning the smaller girls from the brooder to out into the run with our other chickens, I was hoping that maybe being able to stretch her legs and build up muscle would help resolve her issues, but that has so far not proven to be the case.
She does also seem a bit wobbly when standing/walking around. Her gait is just a bit unusual. Her legs seem like they are a bit close together when standing, and her legs seem to sway way out when running (it's very silly and very cute). She also tends to wobble a bit when standing still, which can be viewed in this video:
>Link to a video of her standing and swaying<
(If this link doesn't work, please let me know)
Other potentially useful information:
My pullets are on medicated starter feed
She eats and drinks normally, and seems to be otherwise healthy.
She can roost just fine, has no issues balancing on a bar.
The bottoms of her feet seem fine, there's no sign of any bumble.
I guess my questions are these:
What could be causing this? She's been vaccinated for Marek's, so I don't suspect that as an issue. Could it be a slipped tendon?
Should I continue mixing poultry booster into these pullets' food, since it seemed to give her some help before?
If it is a vitamin deficiency, will I need to continue supplementing for her whole life? How does a chicken acquire a vitamin deficiency?
If anyone has any insight, I would appreciate it! I can provide pictures of legs/feet if need be as well-- these 3 pullets have been snuggly and incredibly tolerant of being touched.
We're new to chickens as of this summer, so still figuring things out. Thanks!
I have a lovely 11-week old Lavender Orpington pullet (Princess Kay).
She gave me a bit of a scare early on when she was just a week or two old, not seeming able to stand for more than a minute at a time. I splinted her for splay leg, as well as gave her extra supplements (poultry cell, poultry booster). She did perk up and seemed much more mobile. But I have been noticing that she seems to lie down much more than her flockmates. She'll be up and wandering around with the others, then will lie down. Her sisters will oftentimes lie down with her for a while, then get back up and continue scraping around.
I would say this has been an ongoing issue for the last several weeks-- as we've been transitioning the smaller girls from the brooder to out into the run with our other chickens, I was hoping that maybe being able to stretch her legs and build up muscle would help resolve her issues, but that has so far not proven to be the case.
She does also seem a bit wobbly when standing/walking around. Her gait is just a bit unusual. Her legs seem like they are a bit close together when standing, and her legs seem to sway way out when running (it's very silly and very cute). She also tends to wobble a bit when standing still, which can be viewed in this video:
>Link to a video of her standing and swaying<
(If this link doesn't work, please let me know)
Other potentially useful information:
My pullets are on medicated starter feed
She eats and drinks normally, and seems to be otherwise healthy.
She can roost just fine, has no issues balancing on a bar.
The bottoms of her feet seem fine, there's no sign of any bumble.
I guess my questions are these:
What could be causing this? She's been vaccinated for Marek's, so I don't suspect that as an issue. Could it be a slipped tendon?
Should I continue mixing poultry booster into these pullets' food, since it seemed to give her some help before?
If it is a vitamin deficiency, will I need to continue supplementing for her whole life? How does a chicken acquire a vitamin deficiency?
If anyone has any insight, I would appreciate it! I can provide pictures of legs/feet if need be as well-- these 3 pullets have been snuggly and incredibly tolerant of being touched.
We're new to chickens as of this summer, so still figuring things out. Thanks!
