OMG! One of my chickens is acting weird!

[Lewbylew99]

One of my chickens is acting weird! She is just staying in a ball and not eating or drinking , she also looks really much in pain. What shall I do and what is she doing?

LewbyLew99
Please comment because I'm worried!

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Post as much information as you possibly can because this is not enough to go off of. Where is she and how long has she been that why? What is her appearance? Crop? Comb color? Breathing? What makes you think she is in pain? Age? Breed? What has she been eating? Laying or nor? Etc. Pic if you can get one. Much info as possible helps.

 

[Lewbylew99]

Well I came out side with the food bowl and I jut saw her lying outside of the sleeping Hutch in a bowl and then I touch her to see if she was breathing and she kept flapping and can't stab on her two feet!! She's in pain because her eyes have gone a reddy colour and they are normally bright yellow! She's a hyline chicken! Not laying at all!

 

[ChickensRDinos]

I'm sorry. I am not sure what's wrong. I would take her in and keep her isolated, warm and clean. It's still early for a lot of members to be on (I'm US west coast and it's only 4:45 am) if you don't get many responses, keeping observing her and post an update at a higher traffic time. Good luck.

 

[Lewbylew99]

I will tell you how it goes! ATM she's balancing on her 2 feet but not walking

 

[ChickyBoy417]

Has she been vaccinated for diseases? You never know....People say that chickens can do well without vaccinations and often times they do...But sometimes the disease affects just one chicken and kills it before it can spread :/

 

[Lewbylew99]

I think she's been vaccinated ! I don't know but do you have any other solutions and how I solve it?

 

[HSCMorgans]

Hi there,
Theres so many things it could be.. Isolate her immediatly! Many people just cull them out right away as to not risk effecting others but thats up to u. You need to force her to drink by eye dropper or syringe...! You could try antibiotics in the water right away! Tractor suppply has them. Electrolights etc.. Try plain yogert mixed w her feed in a nice warm mash..

Unfortunatly ive had some issues like this also an they did not recover...

 

[Tricoglossus]

There are multiple possible causes of the problem.

1. Physical trauma - chould she have trapped her leg in something, causing pain and inability to bear weight? Could she have been attacked by a predator? Have you thoroughly examined her, does she have any external signs of trauma, such as broken bones, bruising, missing feathers, bleeding?
2. Acute infectious disease, such as a virus, causing signs of weakness and paralysis. Has she been vaccinated? Have you had any new additions to your flock lately? Have you seen this before in any other birds in your flock?
3. Has she eaten something toxic? Rat bait, other poison? Could she have been bitten by a venomous spider? Could she have eaten something rotten, containing a bacterial toxin?

If this were my chook, I would get a veterinary diagnosis, prognosis and treatment plan as soon as possible. If she has a bacterial infection, she will need to have antibiotics. Alternatively if you cannot do that, and there are no physical wounds that you can find, I would advise giving her supportive care and see how she goes. Warmth, food, fluids, comfy bedding, keep her clean and dry. Keep her isolated from the rest of the flock. The chook in my avatar, Harriet, had acute onset paralysis of unknown origin a few months ago. My vet advised me to do what I have just advised you to do (and I also got some meloxicam for the pain she may have had). Harriet was totally paralysed apart from her head. I fed her liquid parrot rearing mix with an intragastric tube 3x daily and gave her supportive care, and thankfully she was back to normal in a few days. I suspect that she may have been bitten by a poisonous spider. Good luck with your chook.

 

[Lewbylew99]

Okay guys! What's happened is that we put her down! She couldn't walk properly an looked in pain so now from 4 too 3....