My chicken is laying down in the cold - normal or concern?

[WingsysRoost]

It's been cold, wet, and snowy the last few days compared to last week - hovering around 0C, plus or minus a few degrees. Today, I noticed that my Barred Rock hen was laying down in the leaves both inside the coop and outside. It wasn't for very long each time, and she went up to roost shortly after because it was getting dark. She was also a bit fluffed up this morning when it was colder out, but she seemed to be up and active when it was sunny in the afternoon and came running for their soaked food.

I went to check on her just in case, but she seems healthy, aside from a few peck marks on her comb - I believe she got picked on a bit during the first snow of the year a few days ago when they crowded because they didn't want to leave their run, since she is near the bottom of the pecking order. I don't see anything fresh. It seemed like she had a nice full crop, which I would expect since I had seen her eating right before that. Her comb and face color seems fine, and she didn't appear to be eggbound or anything like that when I checked.

My first thought (well, after I finished panicking that she was ill...) was that she was trying to warm up her feet by laying down on them. Is this something they do? The only time I've really seen them lay down is if they're ill (which she doesn't seem to be) or injured (which she also doesn't seem to be), so now I'm kind of worried about her.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Kiraeh]

My chickens always have a little nap in the afternoon, and sometimes they'll half put themselves to bed in strange places if they're not sure where they should go- if I've moved them from one coop to another for example, or if they're waiting for another chicken to go into the coop.
But anytime you see something that seems unusual about their behaviour, it's always good to scoop them up and give them a really thorough check for mites, lice, wounds, bumblefoot ect. Doesn't take long and no harm done if you find nothing.

 

[WingsysRoost]

I did check her over and didn't find anything. I'll do another check tomorrow in case I missed something, though. She does have a really large comb and she's quite small (she’s the one in my profile picture), so I'm worried she’s feeling it more than some of the others are.

A few of them were acting a bit sluggish especially the first day it was colder, so I'm really hoping that's all it is.

Thank you for your reply!

 

[HollowOfWisps]

My ducks and chickens all tend to lay down more in the winter. I think it's mainly to warm up their feet.

 

[WingsysRoost]

My ducks and chickens all tend to lay down more in the winter. I think it's mainly to warm up their feet.

Thank you for your reply!

This is reassuring to hear. That was my first thought, especially since all of them have been quite fluffed up the last few days. I started thinking about it too much and got worried, especially since she was the only one doing it. It does make sense though since she is smaller than all but one of the others and also has a habit of standing in all the cold, wet, muddy puddles she can find (a surprising amount when the snow keeps partially melting in the sun but it's also cold out).

 

[aart]

It can take them a bit to get used to the cold when it first starts.
Mine do, but then today they were out scratching in the snow at 27°F.

 

[WingsysRoost]

This particular hen does seem to have a few long-term circulation issues, too. Her comb goes partially bluish sometimes if she is overly stressed or too cold. My best guess was cold damage of some sort or just the size of her comb, but possibly she's had it since she was a chick and it could be affecting her feet too. She had some health issues as a chick and I would have considered her to be failure to thrive if I had known about that then.

In any case, the vet didn't think it was a concern, it's been happening for a while and hasn't gotten any worse, and she's otherwise healthy, so it isn't a concern for me. If it is affecting her feet, though, it might explain why she seems slightly colder than the others.

 

[WingsysRoost]

It can take them a bit to get used to the cold when it first starts.
Mine do, but then today they were out scratching in the snow at 27°F.

Some of mine were walking around in the snow today, too. The others were not impressed and preferred the fallen leaves along the fence with no snow lol.

I'm definitely hoping that's the case here. I get maybe a bit too concerned every time they do something a bit odd, and was wondering if I was overthinking it or not.

Thank you for the reply and the reassurance.

 

[aart]

She had some health issues as a chick and I would have considered her to be failure to thrive if I had known about that then.

This could have caused some weakness that might make her more susceptible to stress(like cold temps).
Here's some tips I use in extreme temps:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

Some of mine were walking around in the snow today, too. The others were not impressed and preferred the fallen leaves along the fence with no snow lol.

I'm definitely hoping that's the case here. I get maybe a bit too concerned every time they do something a bit odd, and was wondering if I was overthinking it or not.

Thank you for the reply and the reassurance.

If it's your first year with chickens, there's a lot to learn.
Your first winter can be especially worrisome....but once it's over, you'll have learned how tough they are.

 

[WingsysRoost]

If it's your first year with chickens, there's a lot to learn.
Your first winter can be especially worrisome....but once it's over, you'll have learned how tough they are.

I am definitely learning a lot so far! It isn't my very first winter with chickens (I've had them just over a year) but it is my first winter after I've had several health issues in my flock, so I'm just as worried about them now if they do something they don't usually do.

This could have caused some weakness that might make her more susceptible to stress(like cold temps).
Here's some tips I use in extreme temps:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

Thank you for sharing the article! That is very helpful. I'm definitely thinking that might be the case and there's been a few other potentially stressful events recently, too, so I could also see that making things worse for her.

Thanks again!