Sleepy and tucking her head under her wing

[NashvilleLuLu]

We are new to having chickens. Our four ladies and one rooster have just turned 6 months. We've had them since they were three weeks old. We are in Nashville, the weather just turned colder and it's raining. They free-range during the day. Just discovered this morning that our tractor coop is not weather tight, it is very damp. One chicken didn't want to come out of the coop this morning, but she did eventually on her own. But all morning she has been very sleepy and tucking her head under her wing whenever the flock stops.

I'm concerned because I've never seen any of them do this and I cannot find information about this behaviour on line. Any thoughts of this will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[azygous]

All chickens nap off and on during the day. What you want to look for is her behavior in general.

A sick chicken or a chicken in pain will be mute. A sick chicken will not be interested in eating. A sick chicken may be seen in a corner facing away from the other chickens. A sick chicken may be immobile with her tail held flat and low.

A sick chicken may have a full crop that refuses to empty over night. A sick chicken may have dull, droopy eyes. A sick chicken may be sneezing with a watery discharge from the beak and bubbles in the eyes. A sick chicken may have watery white or green poop or no poop at all. A sick chicken may be all puffed up even on a warm day.

Have you noticed any of these symptoms?

 

[NashvilleLuLu]

All chickens nap off and on during the day. What you want to look for is her behavior in general.

A sick chicken or a chicken in pain will be mute. A sick chicken will not be interested in eating. A sick chicken may be seen in a corner facing away from the other chickens. A sick chicken may be immobile with her tail held flat and low.

A sick chicken may have a full crop that refuses to empty over night. A sick chicken may have dull, droopy eyes. A sick chicken may be sneezing with a watery discharge from the beak and bubbles in the eyes. A sick chicken may have watery white or green poop or no poop at all. A sick chicken may be all puffed up even on a warm day.

Have you noticed any of these symptoms?

 

[NashvilleLuLu]

Thank you for your reply! We gave her some B12 and NutriDrench yesterday. She didn't have an immediate burst of energy, but she seems a little better today. She is eating, but not her chatty self. I am hoping it was just a reaction to the dramatic weather change. But her lethargy was not the normal sleepiness or nap time during the day. She didn't follow the flock nor did she go running when they called for her. No sneezing nor wheezing nor discharge, but her eyes were droopy. Her droppings are normal.

We will not be taking our chickens to a vet, so I will be researching and posting questions whenever I can't figure things out on my own.