Please help! Hen in a downward spiral!

[katie1015]

Hello I have an 18 week old marans hen and she seems to be acting weird. She has always been a loner and stays away from the others. Lately she has been getting worse. It seems like she can't support herself anymore. She is very wobbly. Is she sick? Or could it be a birth defect?

 

[Judy]

A little more information might help.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/3569/have-an-emergency-disease-please-read-first/0_20

 

[katie1015]

She has not started laying yet.
She can hardly walk.
Her poop is a little runny.
Her tail is constantly tucked between her legs.
She is eating and drinking like normal.
Is very distant

 

[BigECarter]

She could be egg bound. Walking like a penguin is how I have seen it described.

 

[katie1015]

I just looked and it didn't look like it. How do you know? Also another problem is that her legs are really really skinny. I just looked at her poop and it actually looks normal.

 

[BigECarter]

http://hencam.com/faq/egg-bound-hens/

 

[Judy]

I believe the penguin-like walk also goes with internal laying.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/639749/timeline-of-internal-laying-update/0_20

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/79443/tell-me-about-your-internal-layers/80_20#post_6235380