uncharacteristic laying down and slow walking chicken

[trish-e]

I am new to raising chickens. I have 4 chickens that are about 8 months old. One of them is acting very listless. She sits down when eating, as if it's too much effort to stand. Today she is lying around the yard instead of just sittling, like when she suns herself. My chickens usually hang out together but today she doesn't seem to want to go see what everyone else is doing. It' very unusual. I haven't seen her run after the others, instead she very casually walks from place to place. Otherwise, she looks ok. She has all her feathers, her eyes are clear, no nasal discharge or cough, and when not lying around, her tail is high. She only started laying about 2 months ago but stopped several weeks of eggs. I assumed it was normal because of the shorter days as one of my other chickens stopped laying too. Please help!

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

How is her weight? You can feel the wishbone (right under the crop, it's the bone that runs along the underside of her chest) to determine if she is thin or not. If her wishbone is protruding, then she's thin; if it's filled out, then she's in good weight.
Hope she's OK!

 

[Paganbird]

I lost a chicken a couple of months ago. She had symptoms similar to the ones you mentioned. Turns out she was eggbound. She wasn't able to pass the egg so she just sat down & closed her eyes. I tried to help, but I was unsuccessful. She hadn't laid in 4 days. She was one of my favorites... the only chick we hatched from our rooster Betty (RIP.)
Good luck with your hen.

 

[trish-e]

Thanks for your comments It's nice to feel like you're not alone out there. After some more reseach I think she probably is egg bound. I'm going to try a gentle mineral oil enema of sorts as well as giving her mineral oil orally with a small syringe to help lube things up in there. I'll let you know how it goes. Wish me luck!