The short story is I have a young chicken named Sally who I constantly find passed out on her back. Sometimes she is somewhat dazed and other times she is just looking at me. Has anyone ever had a chicken act this way? It is as if something happens that startles her and she basically plays dead? I’ve had chickens for many years and never had this happen multiple times with the same chicken or multiple times in general.
Long background version : Sally is from a group of 40 I got from a hatchery in July. At least 10 from this group have died and it was more random deaths vs oh these are sick chicks. We lost them slowly with no obvious signs of illness. When the group was old enough I put them in my larger pasture. When they are young they stay in an area with special needs fowl.
Sally never would sleep on the roost and acted a bit strange. I found her on her back once or twice and I thought it was weird, but I would flip her over and she would run right away. I found laying on her back one day not moving at all. I thought she was dead but when I walked over and I was shocked but she was alive. This time she was injured with cuts around her eye and dazed. She went into a storage barn we have a brooder in and not long after one of my favorite roosters ( who I suspected wasn’t eating-another story) and another new chicken my elderly neighbor gave me joined her. It was a real bad cold snap so everyone stayed there with a heat plate in to recover, eat and get nice and strong. I did however find Sally on her back in the brooder at least twice.
When it warmed up enough I put the group back in my special needs area where I plan to have them stay. Been watching them out the window all day and when I saw the other two without Sally I went to investigate. And there was my Sally on her back, cocking her head to the side saying hi mom. I put her on my lap and she hung out a bit. That area has sensitive chickens and my special needs waterfowl so no one will harm her but there are roosters who will try to mate her.
Anyway idk what is going on with this crazy lady. Does she sleep like that? If a rooster tries to mate her is she just playing dead? She doesn’t seem to be able to get up. I can tell she’s there for a while sometimes because her tail has a pile of poop. I am afraid a predator will get her while pretending she’s a possum.
Has anyone had a chicken act like that? She doesn’t seem unhealthy she has a good set of feathers and isn’t skinny. I’m giving her vitamin e in case there is any kind of deficiency. Photos of the weird little lady below. Last photo is when I thought she was dead, once I realized she was alive I documented for my husband.
Long background version : Sally is from a group of 40 I got from a hatchery in July. At least 10 from this group have died and it was more random deaths vs oh these are sick chicks. We lost them slowly with no obvious signs of illness. When the group was old enough I put them in my larger pasture. When they are young they stay in an area with special needs fowl.
Sally never would sleep on the roost and acted a bit strange. I found her on her back once or twice and I thought it was weird, but I would flip her over and she would run right away. I found laying on her back one day not moving at all. I thought she was dead but when I walked over and I was shocked but she was alive. This time she was injured with cuts around her eye and dazed. She went into a storage barn we have a brooder in and not long after one of my favorite roosters ( who I suspected wasn’t eating-another story) and another new chicken my elderly neighbor gave me joined her. It was a real bad cold snap so everyone stayed there with a heat plate in to recover, eat and get nice and strong. I did however find Sally on her back in the brooder at least twice.
When it warmed up enough I put the group back in my special needs area where I plan to have them stay. Been watching them out the window all day and when I saw the other two without Sally I went to investigate. And there was my Sally on her back, cocking her head to the side saying hi mom. I put her on my lap and she hung out a bit. That area has sensitive chickens and my special needs waterfowl so no one will harm her but there are roosters who will try to mate her.
Anyway idk what is going on with this crazy lady. Does she sleep like that? If a rooster tries to mate her is she just playing dead? She doesn’t seem to be able to get up. I can tell she’s there for a while sometimes because her tail has a pile of poop. I am afraid a predator will get her while pretending she’s a possum.
Has anyone had a chicken act like that? She doesn’t seem unhealthy she has a good set of feathers and isn’t skinny. I’m giving her vitamin e in case there is any kind of deficiency. Photos of the weird little lady below. Last photo is when I thought she was dead, once I realized she was alive I documented for my husband.
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