So my oldest hen, a 6yr old Speckled Sussex has now been found multiple times stranded on her back with her feet in the air unable to right herself. A rooster stands guard over her until I find her in the morning when this happens, now it's been just a few days apart - this week the weather might not be helping if it's arthritis, very very cold (well below normal).
Once she's helped up, she stays on her feet and gets where she wants to go, albeit stiffly, including down the ramp and wherever she wants to go in our hilly enclosure.
She's always been in the top 5 size wise in the flock, and near the top of the pecking order- nobody messes with her, not even now. She's not fat and gets no treats, she's just a large framed bird. I can only speculate this happens to her because she gets bumped by other chickens and is having an "I've fallen and I can't get up" type deal, maybe just extra stiff first thing in the AM.
Wisely, she spends the night on a very low (6" off the ground) roost or she'll bunk in a bottom level nesting box for the night. Her same age EE friends from the same group are doing just fine and still jump to the very top roost- though they are much smaller in every way.
What I want help with is thoughts on ways to improve her mobility and spare her these episodes as possible. This has only happened inside on flat ground and is always a morning thing, never outside which is set on a hill. Cosequin came to mind by I couldn't find a dose for chickens - looking for ideas (no soup pot, she is a PET).
Once she's helped up, she stays on her feet and gets where she wants to go, albeit stiffly, including down the ramp and wherever she wants to go in our hilly enclosure.
She's always been in the top 5 size wise in the flock, and near the top of the pecking order- nobody messes with her, not even now. She's not fat and gets no treats, she's just a large framed bird. I can only speculate this happens to her because she gets bumped by other chickens and is having an "I've fallen and I can't get up" type deal, maybe just extra stiff first thing in the AM.
Wisely, she spends the night on a very low (6" off the ground) roost or she'll bunk in a bottom level nesting box for the night. Her same age EE friends from the same group are doing just fine and still jump to the very top roost- though they are much smaller in every way.
What I want help with is thoughts on ways to improve her mobility and spare her these episodes as possible. This has only happened inside on flat ground and is always a morning thing, never outside which is set on a hill. Cosequin came to mind by I couldn't find a dose for chickens - looking for ideas (no soup pot, she is a PET).