2yr RI Red hen, walking on wings, some swelling under vent, little/no desire water/food, no eggs, wh

[Keither]

Enjoying late winter thunder and lightning storm with temps of 40-60F when discovered Curly missing from the coup. Have 7 hens and a rooster, Rhode Island Reds, who have free range on 5 acres during the day and sleep inside a coup at night. Extensive search found Curly wet, hundled under house bay window, and crawling on her wings. Think she was outside at least two days before being discovered. For three days she refused water and food while remaining quietly in the dining room using an open cat carrier with pine shavings and towels. She has finally started to accept some water, earth worms, fresh green peas, and softened layer pellets; finally issuing some greenish and small poop; no white (urea). Put her six feet away and she immediately wing-walks back and into the cat carrier box. She has not ventured from the cat carrier. Today, she vocalized a little and more animated/alert. Checked her all over and found nothing unusual except a small swelling (squishy) under her vent and missing rump feathers.

Searching the web have checked her for bamble foot, for egg bound, constipation, and vent gleet. The rest of the flock are doing fine and the night-time coup is cleaned weekly with fresh shavings, water, grit, and oyster shell. Figure Curly did not go to the coup being unable to "walk" up the ramp and hop up onto the roost. In the past summer, she has been found occassinally staying in the coup in one nest box then another but not on eggs. Curly molted in the autumn and was given extra rations back then since 30F winter was approaching. The flock gets a handful of scratch around 1000 and unlimited layer pellet at 1800. They pretty much feed themselves free ranging before and after these two feed times.

The wing-walking is not mentioned anywhere by way of a symptom. Going to give her rump/feet epson salt baths until I can figure something out. Have used the other hens for comparison being these are my first chickens since I was a farm child. Anyone experienced this and found the cause? Bamble foot does not affect eating/drinking. Vent gleet, egg bound, nor constipation does not prevent walking. No swelling noted, no skin/feather issues besides bare rump, breathing normal, etc... Real strange behavior.

 

[chooks4life]

Most likely a spinal or pelvic injury. Could have been a rooster that did it, could have been a near miss where a fox hit her or a hawk yet she escaped death but still got injured (not as uncommon as one might think)... Could even have been her own fault, flying down from a perch and misjudging her landing, that one's also fairly common. Sometimes other birds land straight on top of them, and sometimes they get away with it, other times they hurt the bird they land on.

It's a good thing she's smart enough to know to stay somewhere safe to heal. The less you make her walk for now, the better, so restricting her with food and water in easy reach is a good idea for now. As she progresses (hopefully in the right direction) she should have some more room to move but should never have to move too far to get to her necessities. They can recover from some amazingly severe injuries if left to sit somewhere. Some birds aren't smart enough to sit and heal and you can't do much to help them.

If you make her a recovery pen in the main coop, where the others can see her and she can see them, but they can't get to her or her food/water, then the flock bonds will not be broken and when she's well, if she can survive this, she can rejoin them hopefully without serious altercations.

Serious injuries can take many months to heal, though... But some heal rapidly, you never know which is which until you try.

It's 'bumble' foot and 'coop', though. Best wishes.

 

[ten chicks]

'Wing walk' is often seen with leg injuries,they are using wings for balance. Check both her legs for tendon issues/sprains/fractures. Any swelling in legs?

To check for tendon issues,press down back of legs from hock to shank,if tendon has slipped you can feel it(compare to your other birds so you can feel difference). Slipped tendon feels springy/loose like an elastic band,press down you can feel it snap back into place. Tendon may have to be pressed into place several times a day or if it will not stay,you can wrap tendon to keep in place. Tendon issues can be painful.

 

[Keither]

If it were a leg injury, the chicken would be eating and drinking normally. Today, she was found laying on her side refusing water and food like in the beginning. A few days ago, she seemed to be getting better and was eating/drinking some enough to be defecating some. Only other outward sign is some swelling under her vent and feathers missing in that area. Fear she is passing and an autopsy will be needed to hopefully find out why.

 

[ten chicks]

If it were a leg injury, the chicken would be eating and drinking normally. Today, she was found laying on her side refusing water and food like in the beginning. A few days ago, she seemed to be getting better and was eating/drinking some enough to be defecating some. Only other outward sign is some swelling under her vent and feathers missing in that area. Fear she is passing and an autopsy will be needed to hopefully find out why.

No,they do not always eat/drink normally with leg injuries i can personally guarantee this. Egg binding will also cause walking issues.

I agree your girl has something more serious than a leg injury,possibly peritonitis.

 

[Keither]

Closing this thread due to death of hen and autopsy findings:

Hen seemed to be getting better and then was found laying on her side and died within a day. Autopsy found her abdomen filled with fluids and parts of eggs. The web page of: http://www.hobbyfarms.com/livestock-and-pets/6-causes-of-chicken-swollen-abdomen.aspx gives a good write up on this. Due to this hen being pecked by the other chickens, tending to stay away from the other chickens, and missing feathers around her vent; the prognosis is more #6 Salpingitis which is very similar but a little different than #5 Impacted or Egg-Bound Oviducts. I have cut and pasted those two sections from the referenced web page.

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5. Impacted or Egg-Bound Oviducts

These oviductal disorders are seen in obese hens, older hens or pullets that come into lay too early. The oviduct becomes blocked by an egg or a mass of broken eggs and eventually eggs are pushed back into the body cavity as the hen continues to lay. Affected hens walk like penguins when the eggs in the abdomen are excessive.

There is no technical difference between impaction and "egg-bound;” however, I don’t like using the term egg-bound, as it’s more appropriate for what happens in pet birds, such as parrots, where one fully formed egg is stuck in the oviduct.

In chickens, the obstruction can result from several lodged eggs or a mass of broken shells, shell membranes, or a mass of yolk and egg white, and the result is the same. When impaction occurs in the front part of the oviduct (aka uterus), which is usually the case, eggs enclosed by shell membranes might be found in the abdominal cavity. This indicates that eggs continued to form but were refluxed back into the peritoneal cavity. The prognosis for affected hens is poor. The use of antibiotics might prolong an affected chicken’s life for a few months, but it will eventually die from the condition.

6. Salpingitis
This inflammation of the oviduct occurs frequently and can be introduced through the cloaca by various means, including pecking. The most common infection is by E. coli bacteria. In later stages of the condition, the oviduct and abdomen become distended due to masses of foul-smelling, cheesy contents in the oviduct. The cheesy masses are sometimes mixed with egg contents; as a result, salpingitis can frequently be confused with an impacted oviduct.

A chicken with salpingitis can remain healthy for a long time—until the late stage when oviductal contents start to impinge on vital organs. The chicken then becomes sick, refuses to eat and slowly declines. Antibiotics seem to help only temporarily, and while some veterinarians might attempt surgery, the chicken’s oviduct is so friable that the procedure is unlikely to be successful. Affected birds will die.

About the Author: Jarra Jagne, DVM, DACPV, senior extension associate, Veterinary Support Services, Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Center

Dr. Lyle G. McNeal is a livestock specialist in the Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Services at Utah State University.

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2013 issue of Hobby Farms.
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I consider this thread now closed and hope others can learn by it.