Raising chickens is a hands-on job, you need to make sure that these birds eat well, drink well, and are active.
If you notice a change in how your bird walks, if your chicken is crouching when walking, you’d be right to be concerned. This article looks into why this happens
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Chicken crouching when walking:
A chicken crouching when walking is not normal behavior, there are a couple of reasons why these birds would do this, these include:
The bird is egg-bound:
If your bird is crouching while walking then the bird may simply be egg-bound. A chicken becomes egg-bound when an egg becomes stuck in the bird’s oviduct and can’t get out.
The oviduct is the tube where eggs form in the bird’s body. Normally, eggs exit the oviduct through the vent after the egg is fully formed, but a chicken that is egg-bound won’t be able to release the egg.
Egg binding can happen because of a variety of reasons including: large or oddly shaped eggs, double yolk eggs, obesity, young chickens, malfunction in the bird’s reproductive system, and premature laying.
Other symptoms of an egg-bound chicken, apart from walking crouched down, include shakey wings, lethargy, decreased appetite, tail pumping, abdominal straining, and fluffed-up feathers.
What to do:
You’d firstly need to check and make sure that your bird is indeed egg-bound. You can do this by examining her vent.
To examine the vent, wear a pair of latex gloves and spread some KY jelly all over your hand. Hold the bird wrapping it in a towel so it doesn’t get anxious and start trying to escape.
Gently push your fingers into the bird’s vent to feel for the egg. If the bird is egg-bound then you’ll feel the egg without having to insert your finger more than 2 inches into the vent.
If you can’t feel the egg, and your fingers are 2 inches into the bird, then the bird is not egg-bound.
If the bird is egg-bound then you’d need to help the bird release the egg.
To do this, prepare a warm bath for your bird, a warm bath should help the egg come out.
Add Epsom salts to the bird’s bath at a ratio of 1 cup of Epsom salts to one gallon of water. Make sure that the water has a depth of 3 to four inches in height when the bird is in the bath.
Lubricate the bird’s vent with an oil, like olive oil, to help the egg slide out easier.
Giving your bird calcium before you put her in the bath will also be helpful. Calcium will help her expel the egg as it makes the contractions stronger.
You can break the calcium tablet up and feed it to the bird as the bird will likely not take the full pill
Leave the bird in the bath for about 15-20 minutes to soak, she may struggle when you first put her in but she’ll get used to it and relax once in the water.
After the 15-20 minutes are up take her out of the water, dry her off and place her in a quiet dark room. Leaving her in this room will encourage her to lay the egg. You may have to repeat this process a few times before she lays the egg
You need to deal with this issue as soon as you can, egg binding is a serious problem and if it is not addressed it can result in the death of your hen.
A molt:
All birds molt, molting enables old feathers to be shed and new feathers to grow on the bird. The process may be natural but it is not an easy one.
The bird’s muscles will suffer during a molt and this can cause the bird to crouch down when walking during her molt. She may also look like she is staggering around like she is drunk, this is also normal during a molt.
What to do:
You can help the bird by offering it more protein, protein will support her muscles during the molt and help her walk properly.
Add sources of protein to the bird’s diet through chicken foods like mealworms, cod liver oil, and scrambled eggs with poultry spice, these foods should give her the extra oomph to get back to normal
Giving her additional calcium will also be helpful. A water-soluble solution that you can give to your bird is a supplement called ‘zolcal’.
If you’re wanting to add calcium to her food you can add a powder called ‘arkvits’ to your birds food. You will find both of these calcium supplements at pet stores.
Keep an eye on her making sure that she gets better after you give her these foods.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other chicken related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Hen Jumping On Other Hens Back, Chickens Fighting To The Death, Why Is My Chicken Throwing Up Brown Liquid?, Why Is My Chicken Throwing Up Water?, Hen Fighting Rooster