Went to check on our chickens last night to see if they all put themselves to bed, and found one of our two 12 week old pullets alone hunched in the dirt. Usually these two girls are inseperable, so I went over to her to check her out. She was very listless, and when I picked her up and set her down, she went straight down and fell over. I tried standing her up again, but she was very wobbly and lay down again shortly after. She even had trouble uncurling her toes. Obviously she would not have been able to fly or jump the the roost with her buddy. I examined her, but found nothing obviously wrong. I put her in the tractor by herself with some water. She tried to jump up to the roost but kept falling off. It was heartbreaking! I set her on an elavated cal litter cover, and she settled down for the night. She is slightly better this morning, she is walking and eating. Not running yet, she is still not real steady, When it started raining this AM, I put both her and her pal in the tractor so that the big girls won't pick on her. I thought perhaps it could be an insect bithe? Although I saw no signs or bite marks. Could it be a nutrition problem? I have been out of feed for a week and a half and have been mixing some bird feed, oatmeal, and sometimes meat or eggs for protien. They always get fresh greens, and treats from us, plus they free range in our yard. (Though there might not be much for them to forage for anymore, the yard is only 20' X 50'). Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? I'll be going into town Wednesday or Thursday for the proper feed.
