“Sick” hen

[Bill Rugg]

Good morning… We have a six month old buff Orphington hen. I came out to the run this morning she is standing in the corner with her head down looking like she’s going to fall asleep standing up. She’s very lethargic, picked her up and brought her inside to monitor her condition.… Does anyone in the community have An idea of what might be going on and how to move forward. Thank you Bill

 

[Eggcessive]

Get her drinking some water. Poultry NutriDrench 2 ml orally or electrolytes can also be given to give a boost. Offer some moistened feed and cooked egg. Feel of her crop and tell us if it is empty or full, hard or puffy. What do her droppings look like? Does she have lice or mites on her skin under her vent and elsewhere? Could others have kept her from food and water? I would insert a clean finger into her vent 2 inches to check for a stuck egg.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Good morning… We have a six month old buff Orphington hen. I came out to the run this morning she is standing in the corner with her head down looking like she’s going to fall asleep standing up. She’s very lethargic, picked her up and brought her inside to monitor her condition.… Does anyone in the community have An idea of what might be going on and how to move forward. Thank you Bill

Give her some electrolytes, can you give a update on how she is acting now? Try waiting on giving food (especially mashed food) to make sure it doesnt clog her up if somethings wrong, sorry this wasnt much of a help.

 

[Bill Rugg]

Good morning… We have a six month old buff Orphington hen. I came out to the run this morning she is standing in the corner with her head down looking like she’s going to fall asleep standing up. She’s very lethargic, picked her up and brought her inside to monitor her condition.… Does anyone in the community have An idea of what might be going on and how to move forward. Thank you Bill

Thank You… her poop is watery, we placed her in a separate pen with food (cooked egg) & water (electrolytes) and added vitamin E, B complex and selenium. Her neck looks abnormally long and she can’t hold it up. She is well established in the flock and up until this morning was eating regularly. We did not see any mites. She has not layed eggs yet. Crop feels “ normal”

 

[Eggcessive]

Could you post any pictures of her? Could she have eaten something bad, such as dead animal or vegetable remains? Cannyou check your feed for mold or a bad odor?

 

[Bill Rugg]

Could you post any pictures of her? Could she have eaten something bad, such as dead animal or vegetable remains? Cannyou check your feed for mold or a bad odor?

Good morning, thank you we appreciate all your advice. She is still alive , standing but still has a problem keeping her head up. Poop looks more regular today. Doesn’t appear that she ate much, if any, if the egg mixture.
Unfortunately due to a Fox in the area, we don’t free range any more. We clean & refill feeders every other day, Water every day. Food is kept dry and sealed to protect it from rodents.
We do augment their diet with cooked protein (table scraps) and fresh vegetables & grass clippings. We never give them spoiled / rotten food. I’ll try to post a picture

 

[Bill Rugg]

 

[Eggcessive]

She appears to have wry neck. Can she lift her neck? Wry neck is a neurological symptom. It sometimes can be a sign of a head or neck injury, a vitamin E or B1 thiamine deficiency, but can also be a symptom of certain diseases including Mareks disease. I would try giving her human softgels of vitamin E 400 IU and 1/4 tablet of B complex daily orally. She may require some hand feeding and watering 2-3 times a day if she cannot eat.

 

[Chicken poppy]

View attachment 2843432

I agree with eggcessive, it does look like wry neck, you shouldnt be overly worried, the major reason chickens cant live with wry neck is because they cant eat and drink on their own, for the most part it is a pretty curable thing. You should seperate the chicken, its not contagious but the others could peck at her and such, and get her stressed. You definitely need to give her special attention, like feeding her and lots of patience. This can take a while. But for you to see improvements in 24 hours is pretty good. It can take up to one month for it to fully go away.

 

[Bill Rugg]

Good morning
After using all the helpful advice, our hen is definitely on the road to recovery. Wry neck must’ve been the issue. We separated her, gave her vitamins and after 3 days she seems to be her old self. Standing, eating, drinking, increasingly vocal and No signs of a drooping head. We will return her to the coop after her morning breakfast.
That you all for your advice & support. We thought she was a goner……