NOT egg bound, penguin stance.

[Lilion]

My 11 month old hen is standing and walking like a penguin. I noticed it yesterday but was preoccupied and it was more of a "that's odd"...today it's even more pronounced and I remembered reading about it. I have a picture 2 days old when she was fine.

I've googled it and as best I can tell, there's nothing not bad it can be. She's 100% NOT egg bound. She is our most reliable layer...every day I have an egg from her. Shes eating and drinking. She's running around with the other chickens. I'm not sure what to do. It's not a good pic, but best I could do today.

The bare feathers are from overzealous mating.

From what I've read, everything that causes this also stops them laying. But like I said, she lays every day.

PLEASE, anyone that has ideas, please let me know.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'd get calcium into her just to be sure.

She may have been injured from the rooster.

 

[FeatherCrest]

Has she laid an egg since you first noticed it? Could it be that an egg broke inside of her?

One of my hens stood like this whenever she was not feeling well. I took her inside for some TLC (electrolites, egg, fruit etc), but also some rest. Did the trick for her, so maybe worth a shot. Especially nice for her to get a break from the overenthusiastic rooster now that she is not feeling well. Hope she feels better soon!

 

[Lilion]

Has she laid an egg since you first noticed it? Could it be that an egg broke inside of her?

One of my hens stood like this whenever she was not feeling well. I took her inside for some TLC (electrolites, egg, fruit etc), but also some rest. Did the trick for her, so maybe worth a shot. Especially nice for her to get a break from the overenthusiastic rooster now that she is not feeling well. Hope she feels better soon!

Yes, she has laid an egg every day this week. I only have 3 hens and she's the only one that lays brown, so it's easy to tell.

I do have a small coop empty that I can move her to. In the house isn't really an option because of the layout and my dog. But she would be harder to catch there. Maybe I could use a decent sized dog crate? It wouldn't give her much comfort though.

 

[Eggcessive]

The calcium is a good idea, especially if she doesn’t lay today, or if the egg shell is soft. The rooster probably needs more hens, but you could also separate him.

 

[Lilion]

I thought I'd add a video and some better pictures. I noticed it Saturday. She laid both Saturday and Sunday. She's a bit better today, which is when the video and pic were taken.

It would be easier to separate the roo. I have 3 hens, but one is sitting eggs right now, so he's only got this one (Sheba) and and one other. This hen and my broody are pretty ragged from his attentions. The other hen is pristine in comparison; not a feather out of place. So currently Sheba's getting most of the attentions for sure. If I take her out of the picture, it'll be just one hen and the rooster and I can't imagine that's a good thing.

Anyway, here's today's video/pic. I really appreciateany ideas.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would also start some human B complex vitamins 1/2 tablet daily crushed into food or a little water, which may help her legs. You can separate the rooster completely by himself in a pen, until he gets a bit older and calms down some. They are really wild in their first year after maturing, and hormones tend to go down in winter time. It would give the hens a break. I love having a good rooster who is good to his hens, warns when there is danger, and they usually love to roost beside him at night. But they are not necessary. Are you hoping for new chicks with your broody? Be prepared to have more cockerels, but hope you at least get a few pullets. I had some purchased eggs once, and 7 out of 8 were roosters. That was not good.

 

[Lilion]

I would also start some human B complex vitamins 1/2 tablet daily crushed into food or a little water, which may help her legs. You can separate the rooster completely by himself in a pen, until he gets a bit older and calms down some. They are really wild in their first year after maturing, and hormones tend to go down in winter time. It would give the hens a break. I love having a good rooster who is good to his hens, warns when there is danger, and they usually love to roost beside him at night. But they are not necessary. Are you hoping for new chicks with your broody? Be prepared to have more cockerels, but hope you at least get a few pullets. I had some purchased eggs once, and 7 out of 8 were roosters. That was not good.

It's supposed to hit 100+ degrees here and I know the small coop is far less ventilated than the one they're in, so I may wait for that to pass to separate him. Will see. I'll definitely do that though...all alone and in shade he'd likely be fine.

I never intended to have a rooster, but my 4 "pullets" I got turned out to have one on their midst. His name was changed to Manfred when it became apparent.

I am excited to let the broody hatch. She's on 6 eggs from these 3 hens. I REALLY hope they won't all be cockrels. If so, they're destined for the stew pot, so I'm going to be careful not to get attached. I don't think I could eat Manny.

 

[Eggcessive]

Good luck with the hatch.

 

[FeatherCrest]

I thought I'd add a video and some better pictures. I noticed it Saturday. She laid both Saturday and Sunday. She's a bit better today, which is when the video and pic were taken.

It would be easier to separate the roo. I have 3 hens, but one is sitting eggs right now, so he's only got this one (Sheba) and and one other. This hen and my broody are pretty ragged from his attentions. The other hen is pristine in comparison; not a feather out of place. So currently Sheba's getting most of the attentions for sure. If I take her out of the picture, it'll be just one hen and the rooster and I can't imagine that's a good thing.

Anyway, here's today's video/pic. I really appreciateany ideas.

View attachment 3556430

It is good to see that she is still active! But the stance is cleary off. No clue as what may have caused this. At least the extra vitamines etc are a good start.