Hen can’t stand-need help

[PolloGal]

I have a barred rock mix hen that’s about five months old. I hatched her and raised her. She cannot stand up… It appears that she cannot get her legs to stay under her. About four days ago I was putting the girls into their roost and I noticed she went up the short ramp kind of quickly and missed the walk up plank to the roost bar. It didn’t look like she was injured… She didn’t fall or appear to hurt anything. . I didn’t notice anything peculiar… and she just walked away. When I looked at her before she left her no problems and didn’t think twice about it. The next morning she was on the ground in the roost pen, and was having trouble standing… Although she was still able to walk and get around. Immediately I checked for injuries, mites problems with her vent, crop, feathers… And I didn’t notice anything wrong. When I think back about her… She’s always been kind of long legged, and perhaps even knock kneed. I remember because I always noticed how long her legs seemed and it always seemed odd to me. Well, the next day after that, she was worse and yesterday still no change. Whatever has happened has been a gradual decline. She can’t walk at all. She tries to get up but her left leg just pushes out forward. Sometimes I do see her stand up but briefly but when she sits her legs are usually out in front of her or almost to the side.. She appears to be sitting right now in this large brooder with her right leg under her and her left leg extended straight out, I’ve been treating her with Poly-Vi-Sol and have ordered Brad premium yeast seasoning for additional vitamin B vitamins… Treating her for a vitamin deficiency over the past few days. Am I going in the right direction with this for her? She has an excellent appetite as I have been offering her food and water every two hours. I am really hesitant about removing her from the flock, but finally did so today. But I’m still not sure I’m going to keep her inside. I think she is more comfortable having the other five hens around her and I haven’t noticed anyone pecking at her or trampling her. Our chicken pen is rather large, so I know she’s unable to get to the food and water. That’s why I’ve been going out to feed her every two hours. Is that enough? Our land is on a slant and I’m wondering if she’s ever going to be able to recover with that difficulty In the pen. I do see where she gets into different positions out there and I have put a small carpet so that she can kind of get a grip to position herself. So she must be standing and moving herself around to change positions like that out there. I just noticed it’s hard for her to balance because she has to constantly balance from tipping over in the direction of the slant. So it’s just undetermined as to whether or not I should keep her in here alone, or out with the flock to help the healing process. Can she recover from this? Did something happen where her legs are splayed now and I need to do something more? Orcould something be wrong with her left leg and if so what can I do to help her? I’m willing to do what I need to do to help her recover especially since her appetite is so good and she seems a fighter. I am also really fond of her... but really lost here. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[eswall]

Have you tried soaking her legs in warm epsom salt water? Somewhere in this thread someone posted a pdf about making a seat for chickens that cant stand. I’ll see if I can find it.

 

[PolloGal]

Have you tried soaking her legs in warm epsom salt water? Somewhere in this thread someone posted a pdf about making a seat for chickens that cant stand. I’ll see if I can find it.

I haven’t tried the salt water…I didn’t think of it because I don’t see anything swollen. I am just trying to hold her up a few times a day (started today) and ‘exercise her legs’ and make sure she is cleaned up. What do you think the soak will do for her? And I think I remember something about a seat. Does that help her start to stand again? Thanks!

 

[eswall]

I haven’t tried the salt water…I didn’t think of it because I don’t see anything swollen. I am just trying to hold her up a few times a day (started today) and ‘exercise her legs’ and make sure she is cleaned up. What do you think the soak will do for her? And I think I remember something about a seat. Does that help her start to stand again? Thanks!

I know when my ducks have injured legs that’s the first thing I do. I’m not sure if the seat would help her stand again but it would relieve pressure of her sitting on her legs constantly.

 

[PolloGal]

I know when my ducks have injured legs that’s the first thing I do. I’m not sure if the seat would help her stand again but it would relieve pressure of her sitting on her legs constantly.

Yes…I understand. That’s a good idea. If you happen to find the post, please let me know. Thank you. When you do the soaking for your ducks…what does it help for them? I just want to know what to look for as help for her and how quickly it will help…so I know to continue doing it. And should i soak her everyday?

 

[coach723]

Get a super B complex tablet or capsule, human ones, any pharmacy should have, and give her one a day. It's very safe, any extra will be excreted. See if you get any improvement with that. Some examples of chicken slings below, they will help her stay upright and make it easier for her to eat, drink and poop. You need to supervise while she's in it, some of them tolerate it well, some may panic and try to get out and could injure themselves.

 

[PolloGal]

Get a super B complex tablet or capsule, human ones, any pharmacy should have, and give her one a day. It's very safe, any extra will be excreted. See if you get any improvement with that. Some examples of chicken slings below, they will help her stay upright and make it easier for her to eat, drink and poop. You need to supervise while she's in it, some of them tolerate it well, some may panic and try to get out and could injure themselves.
View attachment 3599213
View attachment 3599214

I have B12 vitamins, but they are sublingual... 1 tablet is 1 mg. Would those Help? I have the yeast seasoning coming today…it has a lot of vit b’s in it and was suggested by a reputable video I saw about chicken leg issues. I opted for that instead of the b tablets. I could try the slings… they look like something she would just fall sideways on? She is having a lot of trouble staying ‘upright’. But I will try it for her. Thank you.

 

[coach723]

If you get the sling adjusted correctly, it should keep her upright, like a hammock, she should settle into the middle and be supported upright, with her legs suspended below, just touching the ground. You can also use rolled up bath towels around her to help her stay upright. The sublingual tablets won't likely hurt anything, but since they are designed to be abosorbed in the mouth, they may not be as effective taken orally, you may not see the intended benefits. Make sure you get a b complex that covers all the b's, not just a single one of them. Riboflavin and thiamine are particularly important, and the super complex has higher doses than a regular. Sometimes the much higher doses are needed to reverse a deficiency, if that's what it is.

 

[PolloGal]

If you get the sling adjusted correctly, it should keep her upright, like a hammock, she should settle into the middle and be supported upright, with her legs suspended below, just touching the ground. You can also use rolled up bath towels around her to help her stay upright. The sublingual tablets won't likely hurt anything, but since they are designed to be abosorbed in the mouth, they may not be as effective taken orally, you may not see the intended benefits. Make sure you get a b complex that covers all the b's, not just a single one of them. Riboflavin and thiamine are particularly important, and the super complex has higher doses than a regular. Sometimes the much higher doses are needed to reverse a deficiency, if that's what it is.

Ok. Will the tablet be better than something like Poultry cell or the yeast? do you know how long it should be before I see results?

 

[coach723]

The tablet/capsule is the best way to get high doses in consistently. Sometimes if that is what is wrong you will see improvement fairly quickly, within a few days, sometimes it may take longer. The B's are very safe, so no worries about too much.