[maddy]

I wonder if anyone has any ideas what is wrong with my hen.  She is one of 8, looks perfectly well, eating, laying eggs but I have noticed that she sits to eat and if I touch her she falls to one side like she has lost her balance.  She can walk but doesn't extend her legs fully.  I have looked at her wings and legs and all seem to move ok so doesn't appear broken.  The other 7 girls seem fine.

[chrismahon]

Would need to know her age and breed/ origin Maddy. What is her weight like because it could be loss of energy, could be under-development and it could be a hip injury?

[Eve]

How long has it been going on for and is it getting worse or stable?

[maddy]

She is 4 years old, a black rock breed and I have noticed it for about a week.  She manages to get up onto her perch at night and this morning jumped off but fell onto her side but then gets up and runs to get her breakfast.  She is a little more heavier than the others I notice.

[chrismahon]

All our Black Rocks developed peritonitis at three years, which comes with a swollen warm abdomen and not laying. Some yolks miss the oviduct and end up harmlessly absorbed in the abdomen (up to 13% I have read), but in large quantities they can't be absorbed and this can lead to chronic swelling and infection. It may be she can't move well because of a swollen abdomen Maddy?