Twistiedschi
Hatching
- Jun 16, 2020
- 1
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Two days ago I got my first chickens. They came from family friends as they have plenty of chickens and had no problem letting me take a few. Two of the hens seem to be very strong and healthy. They scratch, eat, hop around, dust bathe, roost, etc. I have yet to see an egg, but I’m assuming that’s normal as I’ve only had them for about two full days now and they are older birds, so I’m giving them time to settle in to their new home. The other two however, seem much weaker. One of them was rescued, she has barely any feathers and is very skinny but since she has been with me I’ve noticed visible improvement. The first day she mostly slept, would peck around a bit but otherwise she seemed very lethargic and ill. I made sure to give her a separate meal and a little extra attention and the second day (today) has been much, much better. She scratches, eats, has even climbed a bit. As of now she hasn’t had the strength to roost or climb up the ramp I have for them, but it’s much better than what I was expecting. As for the last Hen, she is the one that worries me. She has no visible issues other than one or two pale and puffy scales on her feet, her feathers are beautiful and she has a pretty good weight. She will not roost or climb the ramp, and even has difficulty getting inside the coop. There is a very tiny jump to get into the coop that my two healthiest hens have absolutely no problem getting up, but this one can’t seem to do it. I’ve put in a ramp for them now to make it a bit easier for the weaker girls, but she still struggles. When I throw out treats and scraps for them she is always the last one to try and get some, and sometimes she doesn’t even try. She mostly hangs back and will peck around only when the ground is basically picked clean from the other hens, and even then she doesn’t scratch. I’m worried it might be something to do with her legs, but again, I can’t see any visible issues and it’s not bad enough to the point that she can’t walk. She moves around fine aside from a very odd limping motion, which is barely even a limp. She will lift her leg and stretch it slightly forward before taking a step. As these are my first chickens I very well could be over reacting and not giving them enough time, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. I believe they came from a home that didn’t allow them to roost previously, so my other guess would be lack of leg muscle from not being able to properly roost. Again, though, my first two hens are completely fine and they call came from the same home. I tried to provide as much information as I could, if anyone has any ideas on what this could be please let me know!
