There’s something wrong with my 10 week old chick

[Chrissye96]

My 10 week old lavender Orpington has been off the last 3ish days. I checked her feet, legs, back feathers, vent and felt as best as i could around her and i don’t see anything visibly wrong with her. She’s been acting lame, not walking long and then laying down, kinda limping at times, a bit lethargic i would say.
She’s eating, drinking and pooping normal. She’s vaccinated for coccidiosis and maerks. I put hydro hen in their main water and also have a smaller fresh water available.

I’m not sure but i think maybe she hurt herself. They just moved out to the coop 2 weeks ago and only this week did they start to roost at night. The roost is about 3ish feet from the ground. The first night i put them up. The second night i let them do their thing and i saw on the coop camera her try to fly up and miss and hit the wall and fall to the floor. From the camera it didn’t look that bad but i think maybe she got hurt. Because thinking back she was fine before then. That night she tried she just slept on the floor. The last 2 nights i put her up there and she just laid down right away. Not moving much at all. Today she’s not moving much either. She does seem to go off on her own and lay down at times although she does spend a lot of time with the others.

I’m not sure what to do. These are my first chickens and I’m so new to knowing what something could be or how to treat it. I’m so worried about her. Does anyone know what it could be

 

[nuthatched]

What's her diet?

 

[alinas2010]

Aw I’m sorry about your hen. She very well could’ve hurt herself trying to fly up to the roost and falling. She also could’ve been hurt other ways, too. It’s hard to know what shenanigans they get into when we aren’t looking. Is she a larger breed? Larger and heavier breeds sometimes can’t jump quite as high as others. I would recommend some sort of ramp or step ladder for them to use to get up to the roost to avoid any further injuries. Part of chicken keeping is adapting things for them

As for her injury, do you have any idea where she may be injured? What I would do is put her on the roost tonight and when it’s dark, go in with a head lamp and do a good thorough once over on her body. Feel her out compared to another and make sure nothing is broken or swollen. If you can’t find evidence of an injury, I think the best you could do is supportive care. Watching out for her so she isn’t jumping up and down things, making sure she is eating, providing electrolytes in her water, etc. She may just need some time to recover if she is injured.

You could also start investigating other avenues as to why she wouldn’t be feeling well, as in maybe it isn’t an injury.
Sometimes a crop issue will cause them to be standoffish and not feel well. Her crop should be empty in the morning and full at night.

 

[Chrissye96]

Aw I’m sorry about your hen. She very well could’ve hurt herself trying to fly up to the roost and falling. She also could’ve been hurt other ways, too. It’s hard to know what shenanigans they get into when we aren’t looking. Is she a larger breed? Larger and heavier breeds sometimes can’t jump quite as high as others. I would recommend some sort of ramp or step ladder for them to use to get up to the roost to avoid any further injuries. Part of chicken keeping is adapting things for them

As for her injury, do you have any idea where she may be injured? What I would do is put her on the roost tonight and when it’s dark, go in with a head lamp and do a good thorough once over on her body. Feel her out compared to another and make sure nothing is broken or swollen. If you can’t find evidence of an injury, I think the best you could do is supportive care. Watching out for her so she isn’t jumping up and down things, making sure she is eating, providing electrolytes in her water, etc. She may just need some time to recover if she is injured.

You could also start investigating other avenues as to why she wouldn’t be feeling well, as in maybe it isn’t an injury.
Sometimes a crop issue will cause them to be standoffish and not feel well. Her crop should be empty in the morning and full at night.

I do have a ramp for them it’s a little steep but sometimes they fly up mid way and then flap their way to to the top. She’s a lavender Orpington so she’s a standard breed. I checked her over last night on her roost and didn’t see anything that i could see or feel. But she still is limping around. Not all the time but she does and she isn’t running around crazy. Just going slow at her own pace and taking breaks. I do have the hydro hen in their water to try to help her out. I’m hoping maybe it’s just a minor injury and nothing worse

 

[Chrissye96]

What's her diet?

She’s currently just on starter/grower feed with 20% protein and chick grit and of course water. I do give them some snacks like meal worms or grubs. I want to start incorporating veggies and fruits but I’m not sure what kind

 

[nuthatched]

She’s currently just on starter/grower feed with 20% protein and chick grit and of course water. I do give them some snacks like meal worms or grubs. I want to start incorporating veggies and fruits but I’m not sure what kind

Any fruits or veggies. Remember to keep all snacks under 10% of their diet.
I'd try some vitamins

 

[Chrissye96]

What kind do you recommend? I saw someone recommend b-12 ?

 

[alinas2010]

Do they have enough light to see in there in the evening when it starts getting dark? Chickens have terrible night vision

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I do have a ramp for them it’s a little steep but sometimes they fly up mid way and then flap their way to to the top. She’s a lavender Orpington so she’s a standard breed. I checked her over last night on her roost and didn’t see anything that i could see or feel. But she still is limping around. Not all the time but she does and she isn’t running around crazy. Just going slow at her own pace and taking breaks. I do have the hydro hen in their water to try to help her out. I’m hoping maybe it’s just a minor injury and nothing worse

I agree, she may have hurt herself.

The ramp does look quite steep...they may get up there by flying and flapping, but they also have to jump down...
How much space is there to jump down - do they have room to fly and land lightly or just jump and bump into a wall?

I'd consider reworking the ramp, make it less steep and/or lowering the roosts.

 

[Chrissye96]

I agree, she may have hurt herself.

The ramp does look quite steep...they may get up there by flying and flapping, but they also have to jump down...
How much space is there to jump down - do they have room to fly and land lightly or just jump and bump into a wall?

I'd consider reworking the ramp, make it less steep and/or lowering the roosts.

Ya i think i need to figure out how to redo the ramp some how. The roost is about 3 ft off the floor. I could maybe rebuilt the ramp and install it sideways along the shelf? To make it longer. The shed is 5x6 so it’s not huge