Whenever I go forth , be it for a hebdomad or a weekend , I always experience a slender hesitation about returning home . Not because I do n’t omit my family — I do ! But with four son and a hubby left to their own devices , I be given to worry about what shape I ’ll find the theater in upon my return . You may therefore translate my worry when I generate home after my three - week road slip across America with my youngest son , Bryce .
Surprisingly , the planetary house was in perfect shape . No laundry await wash or protein folding . No dishes awaited washing . Furniture , floors , everything was in tip - top shape . Even the computerized axial tomography were groomed and fed . I breathe a suspiration of relief that all was well and did n’t need a week of dedicated cleaning ( or repair ) .
That reliever go away when I went to lock up our pile for the night . All of our fowl were alive . They had food , water , grit and eggshell , and their litter was fresh ( a footling too fresh , but I ’ll let that slide ) . With minimal difficultness , I locked up both group of Ancona ducks and our Ameraucanas , then headed over to close up up the Silkie / Orpington coop . Fortunately , the girl were fine . Butters Orpington was settled into a nestbox for the night , with Natalya Silkie tuck underneath her .
And then there was Tiny Orpington , on the floor of the henhouse , motionless .
Tiny’s Troubles
I instantly panicked . Tiny — Thomas , Jr. , or TJ , but dub Tiny because he is a gnome — had been the icon of health when I ’d left in mid August . Here he was , for all appearances , dead . I gingerly arrive at out a hand to find if he were respire … and Tiny immediately roused , rather grouchily and noisily . He gave me the ol’ stinkeye , then settled himself back down to sleep .
Once again , relief flooded through me . And once again , it was only momentaneous . What the heck was diminutive doing dormancy on the storey ?
He always occupied the leftmost spot on the roost , closest to the ventilation windowpane . He ’d never in his animation had issue perching . As a baby dame , he had been the first of his cock brothers to reckon out how to use the perch in the brooder . When , as a cockerel , I ’d moved him into his hencoop , he had almost instantly leapt up to the perch , where he could have a great view of all the hens he ’d now be guarding ( or , quite possibly , to run from the hen ) .
Ana Hotaling
He ’d never been ill . He ’d never been injured . Yet here he was , snuggling down in the fresh litter for the dark .
Perplexed , I leave him alone , interlock up his coop and headed back to the house . I demand my family about Tiny ’s odd behaviour . My old teen , Jaeson , nodded . “ Oh yeah ! I intend to tell you . Tiny ’s been sleeping on the reason for about a calendar week . ” I promise I did not put my son through an Inquisition , but I did learn that there ’d been no predators , the weather had been constantly temperate , no injury had been noted on any birdie , and the feeder and water boy had been vigilantly maintained at full .
In short , no external divisor was have Tiny to bed down on the ground .
Ana Hotaling
The next day , I caught him as he exited the henhouse and bring him over to our examination table . He balefully glare at me while I good examined his feet , his legs and pretty much every other part of his physical structure . I searched for a physical cause that might have initiated this bedtime ritual .
I spend a good half time of day just observing him in his run , learn how he interact with the hens and with his surround .
There was nothing amiss at all there , just as there had been nothing wrong with him that I could observe . I even wait semi - patiently for him to poop so I could canvas his droppings for any telling signs like worms , descent or mucus . Nothing .
Tiny seemed hale and hearty . So it was time to reach out to the poultry scientists and veterinarian I know to get their sentiment on Tiny ’s conduct .
As it turns out , there are various reasons that a chicken — male person or female — might stop perch . Here are the top four culprits . Ana Hotaling
Bumblefoot
Bumblefoot ( or Pododermatitis ) is an inflammatory condition in the soft tissues of a Gallus gallus ’s foot . This affliction can roam from a small-scale change in skin texture to a very noticeable limp and disabling misshapenness . trance early enough , bumblefoot is easy handle with antibiotics and frequent coop cleaning .
knockout case of bumblefoot can involve the osseous tissue , leave in the death of tissue , pearl and possibly the bird . Bumblefoot develops very quickly and could have set in while I was off . It would decidedly have intervene with Tiny ’s ability to rest .
A exhaustive examination of his substructure , however , demonstrate not even the slightest change in hide grain and no inflammation .
Read more : What is bumblefoot , and what should you do to prevent ( or treat ) it ?
Overgrown Talons
Scratching maintain chickens alive all day , but it also serve a 2nd purpose : the repetitive clawing at the ground naturally trims the birds ’ talons , keeping the claws at a functional length . Like human fingernail , poulet talon uphold to grow throughout a razzing ’s life .
When birds become inactive — either by choice , by confinement , or by inclement winter weather — their talons can grow too long , possibly even curling over the superlative of the toe . Overgrown talon can inhibit movement . Even simple motions like walk and scratching become hard or insufferable .
Overgrown talon would definitely impede a crybaby ’s ability to rest , as this involves a cock twine toes around the roost . When I checked Tiny ’s feet , however , I see that his talon were their usual sizing .
Read more : see out these tips for deal for the nails of you aging hens !
Splinter
Although the tegument on a chicken ’s ft seems toughened and imperviable , it can be pierced by phonograph needle - sharp objects such as roost splinters , nettles and thorns . An embedded splinter can cause pain and swelling . If not removed , contagion and abscess can fall out , requiring aesculapian intervention .
Tiny was strolling , trotting and hop around his run without any denotation of a sore foot , however . And ocular inspection uncovered nothing perceptibly embedded there .
Viral Arthritis
Just like humankind , chicken can suffer from arthritis . Whilehuman arthritisis most commonly due to trauma and by the wear and teardrop of age , arthritis in chickens is due to a reovirus infection .
Affected hiss suffer from inflammation of the leg joints and/or tendon . They present as lame , have conceited joints , and experience trouble with walking , scratching and other forms of mobility . Because of the swelling in the toe joints , perching would be exceedingly difficult for a Bronx cheer afflict with viral arthritis . Tiny , however , designate no signsof joint intumescency or hampered mobility .
bantam ’s refusal to perch stymied me . He was the video of perfect poultry wellness , fluidly combat-ready and constellate yet protective of his hens . I tried lifting him onto his cage ’s perch , feel his feet to ensure the minuscule rooster had gripped the roost . Each clip , he squawked angrily at me , then settled himself on the roost , only to by design hop back down moments later .
One night , after struggling to get him to roost , I peeked through one of the coop ’s vents to watch what my rooster would do next . After a minute or so , Tiny alternate off the roost , then lightly vowelize to his hen as he settle down himself in his new favorite sleeping spot . To my surprisal , a match of the girls expire over and snuggled up to him !
Tiny ’s flock consists of Silkies too modest to hop up to the roost and unreasoning Butters , who perched until she could no longer see . Tiny was n’t being hard , nor was he suffering from some malady . He was take to slumber on his cage ’s flooring to be closer to his hen .
I returned to my family , proud of my responsible for little cock and relieved to know that , fall wintertime , Tiny would n’t shiver alone on that cage perch .
