Narcoleptic Chicken?

[MamaChick73]

I have 12 chicks ranging from 13-15 weeks. The biggest of them all is a bit strange. She falls asleep instantly and tucks her head to her chest or lays with her head on the ground. Then she jumps up and walks off normally. Her feathers are not messy and she eats and drinks very well. There's no sign of infection or illness other than this behavior. Anyone else come across this? She almost seems to be narcoleptic.

 

[azygous]

This could be a first sign of illness. Or it could be a sign of a chicken that likes to nap frequently. The former is more likely as the second is more likely in older chickens.

Keep this individual under close observation. Watch the behavior. If this chick spends most of the time on the outskirts with its tail held low and flat, nodding off while standing up, you may have a sick chicken.

Try to isolate its poop for observation. Healthy poop is reasonably solid for the urates, and chocolate pudding in appearance for the cecal poop. Watery poop with green chunks signifies an infection.

That said, I do have chickens that nap as you describe, but it's usually soon after getting off the roosting perch, as if they needed a little more sack time. And they're also old chickens.