A chicken will do all it can to mask any signs of it being ill, it will even hide symptoms of it being ill from you its caretaker.
This is not something to be upset about, it’s natural for them, doing this is how they keep predators in the wild from targeting them.
In spite of that, some signs of illness, like walking like a penguin, cannot be masked. So why do chickens do this? Why is your chicken walking like a penguin? This article looks into it.
Table of Contents
Chicken walking like a penguin:
Chickens and penguins walk differently, if you notice that your bird is suddenly walking like a penguin you’d be right to be concerned.
The reasons why your chicken is walking like a penguin may be that the bird is suffering from egg yolk peritonitis or, the bird may be egg bound:
Egg yolk peritonitis:
Chicken eggs do not start their lives in the bird with the shell on, in the beginning, the egg exists only as a yolk in the bird’s body. The shell is only applied at the last stages of egg formation.
The yolk moves through the oviduct and eventually the vent just below the tail after it has formed into an egg.
If the yolk does not move correctly through the oviduct, and out of the bird through the vent, the yolk will move into the bird’s abdominal cavity.
If this happens often enough, there will be a build-up of yolk in the bird’s abdominal cavity. This is called egg yolk peritonitis.
Over time, the yolk material will eventually develop an overgrowth of bacteria. Bacteria grow well in the rich material that the yolk is made up of.
This bacteria growth can cause a secondary infection in the bird. Egg yolk peritonitis is very uncomfortable for the bird and will cause the bird to walk like a penguin.
Other signs of this ailment:
Other signs of egg yolk peritonitis in chickens include:
- Pain
- Difficulty breathing
- Weight loss
- Swelling of the abdomen or vent
- Accumulation of fluids in the abdomen
- Depression
- Matted up vent feathers
- Lack of vocalization
- Egg yolk colored droppings
- Sudden death
What to do:
Egg yolk peritonitis is quite a serious ailment, the best thing you can do for a bird suffering from this is to get the bird to the vet as soon as you can.
The vet will examine the bird and figure out whether the bird does indeed have his condition.
If the bird does have egg yolk peritonitis then the vet will drain the fluid in the bird’s abdomen and offer the bird antibiotics to treat the infection.
Unfortunately, draining the bird’s abdomen and giving the bird antibiotics will not stop this from happening again. This is only a temporary solution.
Spraying the bird may also help with this condition, this involves flushing the bird’s abdomen to get the yolk material out of the bird.
Spraying may be helpful but it should be done after you consult with your vet, there are risks associated with this.
Egg bound:
An egg-bound chicken may also walk like a penguin. Egg-bound hens are hens that have fully formed eggs stuck in their body that they cannot pass.
This condition can develop in an obese bird, in a bird that suffers from a lack of calcium, in a stressed bird, in a bird that has malformed eggs, or in a bird that has worms.
Other signs of this ailment:
- Signs, other than the bird walking like a penguin, that signal that the bird is egg bound include:
- Eating less
- Frequent sitting and lethargy
- Tail pumping
- A lack of poop
- Shaking
What to do:
This ailment can be treated both at home and at a vet’s office. If you realize early on that the bird is egg-bound then you can treat the bird at home.
The first thing that you’d need to do is to figure out whether the bird is indeed egg bound, you can figure this out by doing an internal exam of your bird. Be gentle when you do this
Start off by securing your bird under one of your arms and have the bird look backward.
Wear a latex glove and liberally cover your finger in Vaseline. Gently insert your index finger into the bird feeling for an egg. You only need to insert your finger 2 inches deep, if you can’t feel an egg at this depth then there is no egg.
If there is an egg, fill a tub with warm water and let the bird soak in it. This will relax the bird’s muscles. She may pass the egg while in the bath.
If she doesn’t pass the egg after 20 minutes place her in a dark room away from the flock to see if she passes the egg, lubricate the inside of her vent using vegetable oil or Vaseline.
Repeat this process 3 or 4 times, if the egg does not pass after 3 or 4 tries then visit your local vet.
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: Chicken Walking Like It’s Drunk, Chicken Walking Funny, Chicken Stumbling And Falling Down,