So Sleepy

[Gooter]

Hi All. Wondering if anyone else has any experience with this and/or knows what this is about:

Last summer I bought a couple Welsummer pullets that were hatched in early April. They are the calmest, sweetest little girls! Well, one of them fell asleep in my arms right away when I picked her up to put her in the car. Not conked out like she was hit over the head, just settled into my arms and closed her eyes to sleep.

This sweetheart is healthy, beautiful, and she has just started laying in the past few weeks. She's laying an egg every other day - beautiful dark and speckled and nice shells. She eats fine, acts fine, is obviously very content. But she is constantly sleeping! She will scratch around, eat some, then just stand there and go to sleep. She even does the typical little 'zoom zoom' from time to time and flaps her wings...and gets up on the house to be up high. But then she goes to sleep. I go in the pen and hang out with the girls, she walks up to me and then stands in front of me and falls asleep!

Any clues? There are no signs of any illness. I think she is incapable of being stressed...she is just so calm and relaxed and sweet! She's just a sleeping beauty! Why so sleepy?

Would love to hear some thoughts on this...

 

[Sportsterjeep]

Narcoleptic chicken

 

[Gooter]

It's possible, but I don't think it's that. She does not fall asleep from excitement or stress. She simply settles down and GOES to sleep. It's a deliberate thing. Narcolepsy is something that is involuntary. What she does is entirely voluntary.

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
Really? Have you quizzed her to make sure it isn't just happening to her whenever she is still or at rest, and she just nods off without being able to control it?

"Hey, Becky, do you fall asleep on purpose or does it just happen?"

"Buk."

"Okay, then. Couldn't you be more energetic all the time?"

"Buk bok. Bukbukbukbuk."

 

[catdaddy66]

I had a similar talk with my hen but it was regarding her bossiness. She cackled on about "Feed me now!" or "I'm thirsty!" all the time...

 

[luvtheladies]

Love it! I have a RIR hen that is like that, when I walk into the pen she looks at me as if to say "When are you going to pick me up so I can get some loving?" When I do she goes to sleep. She is a very calm hen.