Lethargic chicken, not acting herself should I be worried?!

[nrsejessica]

Hello,

I am a first time chicken owner & have six 5 month old RIR chickens. Today when I let them out to do some free ranging, I had one that hung out inside the coop as the others came running out. When she eventually made her way out & into the yard she just stood there & stared at out shed. I went over to her & normally they all kind of run away from you if you don't have treats for them but she just stood there & let me catch her. She was standing in a puddle of water in the grass from my kids slip n slide & the whole time I had them out she just stood in the puddle & drank a little bit but mainly just stood there. It was really hot today up in the 90s so I'm wondering if she was a little overheated/dehydraded? Could that cause her to act like this or should I be worried about something else? She was drinking & eating so I take that as a good sign but as I mentioned I'm new to chickens so I wanted to get some advice!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes the heat can really be hard on some chickens. Make sure they have cool water in a couple of shaded spots, and either change it often or put some frozen water bottles in it. Watermelon is good to feed, and sometimes it helps to add vitamins and electrolytes to the water on the hottest says. A fan in the coop is also good. Watch for a y diarrhea or blood in the stools, or for any hunched or puffed up appearance that could be coccidosis.

 

[nrsejessica]

Thank you so much!! I figured it was probably heat related but wasn't 100% sure! I will be out changing the water to keep it cool a little more often today & hopefully that prevents it. She seems back to herself today!

Thank you very much!!