Stumbling/Lethargic Hens?

[Marigold]

We just got our first chickens, four game hens, this past Saturday. We built them a nice chicken tractor with an enclosed, insulated coop and a run, and they've seemed pretty happy out there so far. But today, it's hotter, about 100 degrees, and two of them are "acting funny". They're both spending all their time squatting down, not walking around, and when my husband went in to check on them, they kinda stumbled around like they were having trouble walking.

They ate this morning like usual, and they've got fresh drinking water, which they seem to be taking advantage of. We just put some extra pans of water out there so they'd have cooler water, not just the ambient temperature water in the chicken waterer. They've been in the shade all day, so although it's really hot out, they're not in the sun or anything. We just stuck a box fan out there to get more air moving, although there was already a frequent breeze.

The other two hens seem fine, walking around like normal.

Any suggestions? Are we just being paranoid, or is this a symptom of something? Heat is the only thing I can think of.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

http://www.poultry.msstate.edu/extension/pdf/diseases_poultry_diagnosis_symptoms.pdf

I am sorry that I cannot help much, but Miss. State has a nice list of possible diseases based on signs (above).

This list might not help now but maybe for the future it might come in handy.

 

[Marigold]

Thanks! They're looking a little less worrisome now, so hopefully it was just heat stress and they're staying cool more effectively now. I bookmarked your link in hopes that I'll never need it, lots of scary stuff in there.

 

[Marigold]

Meh, looking worse and starting to get picked on, so we separated the two affected ones from the other two and put them in an old wooden antique chicken crate we had out in the shed with a supply of water. Sigh.