Quirky pullet or injury?

[Layira]

As of now I have my 6 RL pullets of 9 wks in a big cage-like enclosure in my basement (coop is still in progress unfortunately). A few days ago, I noticed one of the girls laying down on her side. Now I've seen them sit down before, but never have I seen them lay down like this one was. She would lay down, look like she struggled to get up and then would lay down again. I first noticed this on Friday, but I didn't think it was anything because she got and was fine. Today, I saw her do it again, but when I came back a few minutes later, she was up and walking around like nothing was wrong, drinking and eating as normal. So I picked her up and examined her. I haven't seen any external injuries and I highly doubt that she was being beat up by the others because they all get along very well. They have plenty of food and water and space, and they aren't too cold or too hot, so I'm thinking its not an environmental issue. Honestly, none of the others have done it, so I'm concerned. I was considering isolating her to see if she changed. Am I over reacting and she's just quirky, or could it be something serious?

Please and thank you for any input,

Anna

 

[allieloveschickens]

I am new to chickens, but my 3 week old BR chicks often lay down under the heat lamp, or sometimes just stretch out a wing and a foot (looks like chicken yoga!) I have not noticed them having any trouble getting up after laying down though.

 

[Layira]

Quote:
I have seen them do things like that when they were younger, but its not quite the same thing. She kinda shuffles around on her side, it doesn't really look like she's relaxing. It's somewhat difficult to explain I guess, I might have to see if I can get a picture of how she looks.

 

[SpringChickens]

Sounds to me like she's dust bathing!!

It's a little disconcerting at first, but she's fine!

 

[Layira]

Dust bathing...lol I actually didn't even think about that! Next time she does it, I'll take that into consideration. Maybe that's all it is!

 

[Chief]

Quote:
Probably dust bathing. I'd just check to be sure she doesn't have any bugs. But mine dust bath quite often & it does look quite strange.

 

[Layira]

Ok good, that makes me feel a whole lot better!

I'll do a very thorough examination and make sure she doesnt have anything.

Thanks for all the replies!