Active hen suddenly won't move or open eyes

[nbeucler]

I have a Mille Fleur hen that has a bad leg and has become a house pet. She lives with me in my apartment and wears a diaper and is very clean and active. Today she was being her normal self, making noise, wandering about the apartment as usual. She ate and drank like normal. This evening, around 8pm, she sat in the doorway of my living room and it looked like she just sat down and went to sleep. I went up to her, and she didn't move. She's breathing normal, not struggling, but just won't open her eyes. I checked her diaper, and found an egg in there along with some really runny poop. She had normal poop earlier in the day. Her comb is very cold and has turned an almost maroon color. I have put her in front of a small heater along with blankets to warm her up, but her comb still stays cold. I've also given her some poly-vi-sol for some extra energy. Her crop doesn't feel hard or full. Her head isn't droopy either.

I did give her some tiny bits of ham this after noon, nothing more than a dime's worth. She had that around lunch time. Otherwise her food is normal pelleted food with access to water at all times. She doesn't readily accept water, but it does go down when I use the dropper to give her some.

Is there anyone out there that has any suggestions as to what is going on? I know she's just a chicken, but she has become a pet, and I'm trying to give her the most comfortable life possible with the bad leg that she has.

Any help would be appreciated.

Nikki

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I agree this doesn't sound good. It is possible that something in the ham was off, causing salmonella poisoning or such, but if it was ham you would eat yourself, or did eat too, and you're fine, I don't think it is that.

Could she have gotten into something poisonous in the house? A house plant? Cleanser? You might try some charcoal to try to bind any poison.

The other thought...How did she get the bad leg? From an injury or from hatch....or did she just come down with a limp and ended up with a weak leg?

I must admit I am thinking Marek's...if she just one day had a bum leg. Marek's can be a slow killer if the bird survives the original acute stage with the bird one day disinterested in food/water and wasting away as the internal tumors take over.

Sorry to hear she isn't doing well...keep us posted.

LofMc

 

[nbeucler]

I bought her at a bird swap a couple years ago and she was a part of a breeding trio but already had a bad leg. Thats why I bought her, because I felt bad. She's had the bad leg since she's been with me. She must have been injured at the previous owners and nothing was done to fix it.

I ate the ham, too, and I feel fine. I don't have any house plants near the ground and I make my cleaning products because I also have 2 house ducks. They are fine, too.

She is starting to react a little bit more. She opened her eyes for a second, and is holding her head up a little better. She even wiggled her tail feathers. She didn't lay the egg until later in the day, and kept going back and forth to her little bed like she was going to lay. Could it be she just strained so hard with the egg that she would be this fatigued?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I bought her at a bird swap a couple years ago and she was a part of a breeding trio but already had a bad leg. Thats why I bought her, because I felt bad. She's had the bad leg since she's been with me. She must have been injured at the previous owners and nothing was done to fix it.

I ate the ham, too, and I feel fine. I don't have any house plants near the ground and I make my cleaning products because I also have 2 house ducks. They are fine, too.

She is starting to react a little bit more. She opened her eyes for a second, and is holding her head up a little better. She even wiggled her tail feathers. She didn't lay the egg until later in the day, and kept going back and forth to her little bed like she was going to lay. Could it be she just strained so hard with the egg that she would be this fatigued?

No...egg laying doesn't wipe them out like that unless she was egg bound. Something is wrong.

Does she normally lay her egg in her diaper? Does that inhibit egg laying in any way?

Check her vent to make sure there are no signs of vent infection or binding. That could cause a sudden lethargy. Usually they will keep their tail tucked and walk awkwardly, but with a bad leg, it might be hard to see a difference in her gait.

LofMc

 

[casportpony]

Is the shell on her egg normal?

-Kathy

 

[nbeucler]

She does lay eggs in the diaper. I made it so that there is plenty of room to lay the egg, it almost like a little cup under her vent. Good news, she is awake and moving. But I've noticed another issue.She isn't using her bad leg like she normally does. Her leg was usable as a crutch, but now she leans on that side and supports herself with her wing. I carefully held her on her back and her leg moves out to the side. Her leg is warm, so its still getting blood flow, which I understand is a good thing. Is there a way that I could wrap the leg up to keep it in place?

 

[nbeucler]

Yes, the egg was normal. She is better now. Not walking though. I think she might have injured her leg. She leans on the bad side and uses her wing to hold herself up.

 

[casportpony]

Poke both her legs with your fingernail and make sure she flinches the same in both.

-Kathy

 

[RoxysAnimals]

Could you post a pic of her right now?

 

[RoxysAnimals]

Do you mean you think her good leg is injured?