Chicken bald back

[Clucky the Great]

About a week ago Henrietta at about 6pm looked very lethargic, she is normally a very slender hen but she just looked very very puffy especially the feathers just infront of her tail feathers were very pufffed out. I had been away for a week and it was the night I got back and my brother who I left in charge a couple of days before as about 2kg of corn was spilt all over the shed floor he let the chickens in to "clear up!". I know too much corn is very bad for them so put it down to that. She was not with it at all and I dropped her to see if she could fly and she just fell and landed in a heap she didn't flap and she wobbled as she walked and fell over.

 

The next day she was fine but a bit of a dodgy egg was layed.

 

Now again at about 6pm Nuggett another one of the chooks has the exact same stance as Henrietta had but isn't quite as wobbly and lethargic but still not right. She keeps going up the ladder into the cube . Just wondering if anyone has any idea about what is wrong or whether it is normal and they are just tired. I have only had them 5 months so still fairly new to it all. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated

[Clucky the Great]

Henrietta was ill again this morning, same symptoms, lethargic just sitting in the run unable to move then 2 hours later she is running around like normal again? Any ideas?

[Beantree]

What else was on the shed floor Clucky. I'm thinking something didn't agree with them? Or perhaps they are going broody?

 

When she is sitting down place an egg in front of her and watch. If she is going broody she will pull the egg back under her with her beak and tuck it under her wing. The screeching and raised feathers isn't always evident. We have one in the house at the moment (for disorientation) who is a 'silent broody'.

[Clucky the Great]

Thanks, I will watch them. Cynthia had a couple of hours of the same behaviour the other day but now everyone is currently a lot perkier - I added some poultry spice too to give them a bit of a boost. They are on sand so wondering if the sand has become to acidic with their droppings as I do poo pick but the majority of droppings get mushed into the sand before I do and they do like to peck at the sand. I now have them on Bokashi Bran as of today and they are 4 days into their flubenvet course so hopefully that eliminates worms and acidic run. They free range when I am supervising and they generally stick to grass and occasionally dig about in the flowerbed. I'm just a bit confused because I thought when they are ill the egg production drops as they put all energy into getting better rather than eggs but we are still getting 4/5/6 eggs a day so hasn't dropped! So I will definitely see about the broodiness, they haven't spent excessive time in the nest box as far as I have noticed.