My chickens lay down a lot during the day, is this normal?

[BY Chicken Lady]

The first time I saw my chickens "laying down" I almost died! She looked like she was in the throws of death! Turns out she was just dust bathing and stretching! Mine will take a dust bath and just lay there for a little while with one wing and one leg stretched over the ground. Looks so funny!!!

My previous comment was in reply to this comment by jjdward

 

[RoseMarie1]

Mine free range but on a sunny day will come up on the deck and sack out. At first glance it looks like I have a flock of dead chickens strewn around the deck, even moreso because several of the girls are molting. They've always done this, so I'd say could be very normal for your flock as part of their relaxation time during the day.

lol I got a visual of that and couldn't quite laughing.

 

[RoseMarie1]

This thread cracked me up! My chickies are pretty much like everyone elses. The one thing they forgot off the list is 'pretending to fly' and 'playing chicken' all day long in between stretching, naps, begging for treats, and talking.... what is it about EEs that cause them to talk and talk and talk?

My RIRs are a lot quieter.

MINE are to on the rir's. But the black aust. now that's another story! They can make some noise!!!

 

[Nova Scotia]

Well I am so glad to read your post S Chicks. Just 4 days ago some of our chickens started to lay down and toss wood chips over themselves. It was a nice day, not hot, not cold. After reading what you have written I believe they are just having a dust bath. We have 18 happy friendly active RIR chickens and 1 rooster-Max. They are all 16 weeks old. We are waiting for Max to crow and the girls to lay-patiently waiting.
Thanks
Darlene

 

[Kristen D]

My orginal flock of 30 birds, RIR's, BO's, BR's, BS's have always been active. Under the same conditions, I got 25 EE's and they were LAZY birds, always siting around doing nothing.

What breed do you have?

My Easter eggers are the MOST active! I'm actually quite surprised because they're also the best foragers

 

[chickengeorgeto]

They are 14 weeks old, except one she is 16 weeks old. It seems like they are always laying down. It is cloudy here today, and it isn't too hot and they are still laying down.....

Strong, hot, direct Sunlight can and will kill a healthy, adult, chicken in only 5 minutes or in 300 seconds. Take your pick.

As a toe headed youth I well remember chopping and hoeing cotton in the hot Alabama Sun. From time to time I would retrieve my handkerchief from my rear pocket, pull off my straw hat and wipe the sweat from my head and face. But before I took this break, I first had to scrape the top layer of dirt off the furrow so that I would have some fresh but cool dirt for my bare feet to stand on.

Well your chickens are no different than I was 60 years ago, they are using sub-surface dirt as an air conditioning medium. This is also the reason I could watch my Granny's and my Big Mother's chickens through the cracks in the parlor and dining room floors as the chickens whiled away the hot noonday hours loitering and rolling in the shady dirt beneath my Grand Mothers' homes. These were the days when free-range chickens were in fact free-range, meaning that they wee indeed free to pursue what ever Ethos that they chose.

All this putting ice in the coop may make your feel better about the way that you treat chickens but I can guarantee you that your chickens are unimpressed with your efforts. In July and August ice has a way of melting, and melted ice creates mud. A mudhole may be suitable for a hog to wollar in to cool himself off, but a mudhole will leave a chicken unimpressed.

 

[jeria]

FYI Store bought white bread has little nutrition for anyone, people or animals, the little it does have is chemical additives. Besides the cedar issue they may be eating the bread instead of more nutritious feed.

 

[whychickens2]

Mine were laying down a lot so I put two box fans in the run and made sure it was coverd and shaded. They are much happier although they still sit/lay a lot it's not as much and they don't pant at all with the fans

 

[MigraineMan]

Our chickens have dug a shallow hole under the ramp from the run to the coop. That, coincidentally, is near the outside waterer ... which happens to keep the local soil moist from the drops that don't make it into the chickens. I am convinced that they're using this structure as "chicken air conditioning." The moist-but-not-muddy soil is cool to the touch. They will park their feathery butts in the hole and sit in the shade during the peak mid-day heat. They will also congregate under the coop in the corner furthest from the sun when it's really hot outside. I would expect that the Black Australorps need to pay attention to solar irradiation in the summer, so it makes sense that they've figured out how to keep cool when it counts.