Mentally Challenged Orpington Pullet

[CrazyChickenLady35]

Wasn’t really sure how else to title this…. I have a 13(ish) week old Orpington pullet who seems to be a little mentally delayed. She either hasn’t figured out how to roost or can’t do it, I’m not really sure. She seems to have very bad balance and she doesn’t really make any noise. The other four pullets tend to *literally* walk on top of her and stand on her and she doesn’t really react, just accepts it and looks around. I placed her by hand on a roosting bar earlier, making sure her feet were planted properly and slowly let her go so I wouldn’t knock her over, and she just fell off. It wasn’t a far fall at all so she’s fine, but again she didn’t react. She didn’t even get up on her own she just kinda looked around with a flabbergasted expression. The poor girl just laid on the ground on her side, wings and legs all splayed out. I haven’t weighed her but she feels to be about the same weight as the other pullets her age so I don’t think that’s the issue. I have another Orpington, about a year old, who is also, for lack of a better word, dumb. She tries to scale the chicken wire fence every day, gets turned around in the coop, and tends to get picked on by the other hens. Is this just an Orpington thing? I thought they were supposed to be a somewhat intelligent breed lol. Has anyone else dealt with this? Any remedies? I can provide pictures of her tomorrow if needed.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Not a BO thing. I hatched 2 pullets a couple of years ago whose names are Dingbat and Dipstick. I'm surprised they're still alive, frankly.

 

[FrostRanger]

My buff Orpington Juniper is very sweet but undoubtedly the dumbest bird in the flock. Intelligence is more of an individual thing though, some birds are scary smart and others are dumber than a sack of rocks and can be anywhere in between

As for your bird, she'll (hopefully) figure it out eventually, just let her be. Also buffs often aren't as nimble as other breeds so make sure she can get to the roost ok

 

[User690263]

When I go to let the chickens inside for the night, my BO just stands there and stares at me blankly while the others go in the coop. I like to say that she's just... special.

 

[User690263]

I can provide pictures of her tomorrow if needed

It's not needed, but we would love to see pictures anyway

 

[CrazyChickenLady35]

My buff Orpington Juniper is very sweet but undoubtedly the dumbest bird in the flock. Intelligence is more of an individual thing though, some birds are scary smart and others are dumber than a sack of rocks and can be anywhere in between

As for your bird, she'll (hopefully) figure it out eventually, just let her be. Also buffs often aren't as nimble as other breeds so make sure she can get to the roost ok

I didn’t mention this but she isn’t actually a BO lol. I think she’s an english? I got her from tractor supply. She’s white brown and black and kind of speckled. I’ll take some pictures tomorrow

 

[FrostRanger]

I didn’t mention this but she isn’t actually a BO lol. I think she’s an english? I got her from tractor supply. She’s white brown and black and kind of speckled. I’ll take some pictures tomorrow

Sounds like a jubilee Orpington

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I would rule out any health issues like vitamin deficiencies before putting her on the short bus. I had a chicken I thought was a basket case but it turned out she was partially blind.

 

[SnackMeat]

I would just make her a little duck nest away from the poop trajectory of the others and call it good. Maybe some extra TLC from vitamins, minerals, and protein but otherwise just chalk it up to her being behind the others. She'll catch up or she won't but so long as she can function and seems like she isn't suffering, failure to roost seems like a low priority thing (but I'm new to chickens so absolutely could be wrong.)

 

[Altairsky]

I have a mentally challenged araucana. She makes a monosyllabic noise and nothing else. She also goes blank and look like a taxidermy asset sometimes. She thinks she's the bottom of the pecking order, but her normal sister is actually lower than her.
She bites my hand to the point of making me bleed, for absolutely no reason, then 2 minutes later she comes for cuddles and treats.
She's always been a runt and her feathers sucks.
She's an essential component of my flock.