[smelly]

Hello

Can anyone help me.  I have just started to keep chicken here in spain and have just got my first five Rode Island Reds (I think).  They are all point of lay and one has even started to lay, but I have one that I am very  worried about.  She is much lighter in colour then the other 4, much lighter in weight then the others and has much paler legs, the others all seem to have yellow legs, and she lays down for most of the day on her side with her legs out to the side.  And she also seems to be bullied by the boss hen and is always last to the food.  Do I need to worry, am I being silly because I have only been keeping hens for 4 weeks and there really is no where here I can get advice.

Many thanks 
 

[cathangirl]

Hello Smelly,
Welcome to the Forum.

Has your hen always been different from the others, or is this a sudden, recent change?  Hens do come in different colours and sizes.
 
Regarding lying on her side:  Is it very hot there; is she in a dusty area when lying down?  If so, she may just enjoy a relaxing dust bath there.

The pecking order is Nature, but still not always pleasant to us fair-minded folk.

Good luck,
cathangirl

[smelly]

Thanks for the advice, with regards to her laying down it is in all places, although she does seem to love a dust bath.  They were kept in battery type conditions 4 to a very small cage  so I guess that could be the reason maybe her legs aren't up to walking just yet.

Thanks again
Smelly