New Hampshire Red - is this normal behavior?

[ChicaMia]

Hello everyone! I am completely new to all things poultry. I have wanted chickens all my life and finally got 6 New Hampshire reds. They are a couple of months old now and sort of in that gangly stage, but seem to be doing well. I noticed one of them is acting odd the past week though. She has been digging up a spot in the grass and will lay down or she will just lay down and kick a leg out and then sort of roll to her side. I inspected her, there are no injuries and she is up and around with the other 5 hens acting totally normal. It's just that she is doing this laying down on her side thing. It's not like she lays on her side the whole time mind you, but she will dig down into the grass and then lay down and sometimes lay to her side or kick a leg out. Is that normal or should I be concerned?

Thanks a bunch,

Jodi *the chicken n00b* LOL

 

[Snooglerat]

It sounds like she is taking a dust bath. My chickens dig holes everywhere and plop down and do just what you described.

 

[mmktdox]

She is taking a dust bath! It's their way of naturally preventing/dealing with pests (lice mites etc). It's perfectly normal and it doesn't means she's full of bugs either. Make sure next winter that they have access to a box or container of sand so they can continue to groom through the winter. I made that mistake and ended up with a very lousy hen!

 

[ChicaMia]

Oh good, I'm glad to 'hear' that!! The girls have a huge sandbox to use and spend a lot of time in there lately. Thank you for the help, I wasn't sure if I should worry about it or not. LOL