1 year old hen can't walk-possible injury? Update- broken pelvis.

[jjthink]

Hoping very much that George will feel better soon.
Perplexing what is going on but some things that could bolster her would be electroltyes when overheated/stressed (she's inside now, hopefully cool, but some electrolytes may help restore balance - a touch of pedialtye in a pinch if you don't have poultry electrolytes).

Her leg - I really don't know if something else is going on that would contraindicate treating for pain, since we don't know what's going on, but for pain typically aspirin is recommended on this site at a dose of ~1 baby aspirin (no substitues unless known to be okay for chickens) crushed per cup of water changed twice daily.

If she won't drink willingly but might take watermelon or other watery fruit you can spritz it with a little pedialyte, maybe even then put in freezer for 15 minutes and then serve....Similarly, when I can't get them to drink aspirin water because an iinjury hurts too much to care about eating/drinking, I'll dunk bits of fruit in aspirin water, when I'm lucky they'll it eat, it begins to take the edge off of pain and then they begin to drink on their own again.

For crop, you might try taking little bits of a good quality grain bread and dunk in good olive oil and if she eats eat it - may help things move along. Speculation here but lots of folks on this site do this.

Hope she isn't having a problem in the egg department...
JJ

 

[PunkinPeep]

I'm totally a newbie, but i'm wondering why no one has suggested putting her in a warm bath. If things are blocked up in there - wherever they're blocked up, then now that she's cooled down, it seems like a warm bath might help loosen up an egg situation, a constipation situation, or just alleviate some inflammation in that leg to maybe help loosen that up if it's an injury. There's definitely something wrong, and if she's cooled down in your house, i can't see the harm in giving her a shot at loosening "things" up. I don't like to eat when i'm constipated either.

Just my thoughts.

I love that you named your hen George.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
I think this is a good call!

I like the George, too.

Maybe it's time to start with the crop problem stuff, at least a little olive oil. They seem to react so strongly to stress, seems like anything could happen.

 

[dlhunicorn]

oh dear... she does seem like a very ill bird indeed...especially with those temps.
Do you give them feed during the daytime (you shouldnt as processing it will generate heat) ... also I am concerned about your feed as you say it is made of a mixture of grains (too much energy for this heat >get a name brand boring ole pellet or crumble and give that (you can mix it with a bit of cooked human oatmeal for your sick girl) for all your birds not just this one).
If you even want a chance at saving her then you must keep her in where it is cool with no stress. It might be that an egg or such not being laid (and chickens dont stop making eggs if one is stuck so they will "back up") > had she stopped laying totally before all this happened? A "stuck" egg can sometimes put enough pressure on the sciatic nerve to cause that one-leg paralysis you are describing (Mareks will generally not be a problem at this age but it is not impossible... it just doesnt quite sound right to me... your description of her being overweight (which can cause problems in and of itself > adjust your feed) t stress PLUS the possibility that the sudden shock of falling off the roost (if that happened) might have caused an egg to back up (the system can change the direction the egg travels in a sudden shock)...
I think it is a combo of all these things and I also believe that her being overweight (lots of fat) also has a lot to do with it.
As I said before she needs to stay cool... have no stress and get some electrolytes in her water! Can you get this from your feed store (and look for another feed too!) >>>???

ETA: Here is the link to my info on rehydration
http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=emergencies&action=display&num=1162030046
(dehydration will kill your bird quicker than anything else especially in hot weather )

 

[ChooksChick]

Thanks so much everyone!

I haven't had another poop from her yet, and her crop isn't really moving anything along- I'm still chalking this up to stress, but massaged her crop as much as she would let me. I fed her some baby parrot food (it's a paste) that is full of probiototics and vitamins. I also fed her a hard-boiled egg. She only gained interest in food after I got aspirin into her, and was very much perkier after that- for a while. Perky being such that she isn't acting like she wants to die, and makes a bit of greeting to me.

I should get her into a bath, and I can't believe I didn't think of that- but it's late and we're having a deadly lightning/hail/torrential rain/wind storm, so no tub for now- it'll have to wait until tomorrow.

I haven't been able to get my birds to eat pellets of any of the kind I can get here- they abhor all of them and I end up with none eaten, littering my yard from them kicking them all over- and with the rains we've had this year, I end up with a moldy yard!

They used to eat Layena, but this last bag they went on strike and wouldn't eat a bit- I assumed they knew something I didn't (think Chinese import ingredients).

They get very little feed since they free range, and thus the majority of their diet is found in the yard, plus greens from the kitchen.

I would like to have George weigh less, and recognize there can be fatty liver sudden death and other implications with her weight as it is. The other grown girls don't weigh in like she does, though she doesn't get more treats or anything- I wonder how she is this way, usually.

I will get her electrolytes first thing tomorrow, and I'll give her a warm soak, too. I hate to move her, as she seems to be in so much pain! She does shift a bit now, but when I put her on her other side to give the left side a rest, she flipped over with a groan,, as though it hurt terribly to be on the bad side.



Thanks again, everyone for your help. Georgie thanks you, too!


Edited to add- she will stay inside until she is better- I'm happy to keep an eye on her in the cool air conditioning.

 

[annek]

Can you get her so she can sit up. I have seen where people have used rolled up towels and bowls with towels in it to place the hen in. I don't think it is good for her to be laying down. I hope she feels better for you.

 

[Judy]

 

[ChooksChick]

She has shifted to a more upright position, but it hurts her to put any weight on her Rt side. She's dictating her position, because I don't want her to be in pain any more than necessary.

I'm going to check on her in the night- hope she sleeps well.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Sometimes if they get tired of the pellets then switching to a crumble can help... or mixing in a bit of cooked oatmeal (just enough to make it clump together)

I was hoping for a little info on her laying history? (If laying has been sporadic before the onset of the heat it could be that she is an internal layer > see this link and the photos of what can be inside from that:
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/PennysSurgery/PennysSurgery.html

 

[ChooksChick]

Thanks, Diana-

As far as I can tell, she's been laying with the rest of the girls. I have gotten a couple soft-shelled eggs over the past year, but I haven't any idea who produced them, as they were present in the morning when I opened up the coop.

Georgie's been caught in the laying boxes as much as any of the other birds, but I haven't sat and watched her produce- I did see her drop an egg once, but can't say how often. I always assumed she was just laying with the others, and haven't a way to know who makes an egg each day- the eggs are virtually identical, as my only current layers are Barred Rocks.

She hasn't laid this whole 36 hours she's been inside, and she's only pooped twice. I do have to mention she's produced a poop that can only be described as simply as insidious as broody poop. She was one of the 4 girls who threatened to go broody this year, picking their chests and sitting in the nest boxes for hours. She never went fully down the path, and gave up after the Alpha hen sat on a nest to hatch- the others gave up, too.

She drank a bunch of Kefir this morning, which is great, as she's refused water. I've forced some down her, but can only get small amounts in. She drank some water after the Kefir.

She ate another 1/2 hard-boiled egg, and seems to want more, but I can still feel food in her crop from Monday night. I've massaged her crop as much as she'll let me.

I'm seeing her move far more, though the leg is still impotent. She tries to stand, and shifts. She's on aspirin still, and breathes heavily when moving and afterward- reminds me of breathing through pain of labor, without the bearing down.