"altered mental status" hen?

[mtessdoan]

Help with a red sex-linked hen. Under/at 2yrs old roughly. We got 2 girls at the same time (rescues). Both red sex linked. They’ve never molted. Always laid. First one did this and we put her down. Second is doing it now.

Honestly, it’s like they were whacked in the head or something. They just sit/stand there and stare at you... they stop eating, coming for treats, reacting when the other hens peck at them, run away from our toddler... they’re honestly sort of like zombies. Within a few days they other wasn’t even moving out of the coop. My husband put her down. She has her head pulled in to her neck all the way. We have not done an internal exam for egg-bound because we are still somewhat new to backyard chickens and have never actually done that before so don't have a clue what we would be doing/looking for.

My sister said maybe an egg broke inside of her??

No signs of parasites that I could see. Other hens are doing/laying fine.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

My husband put her down.

For no reason.. sorry..

Don't cull this one. Broody is an instinct hardwired into their metabolism for survival of the species.
Too bad you don't have any fertile eggs to let her sit on.

 

[mtessdoan]

She’s definitely not broody We have a black hen who goes broody like every 6 weeks and this is definitely different. She’s not sitting in the nesting box at all. She’s standing up in a corner of the run with her head scrunched into her neck and won’t move at all.

She’s not puffing up her feathers or anything. She’s seriously almost catatonic on her feet.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

@casportpony
I called for expert opinion.

 

[casportpony]

Can you post a picture and a video?

 

[mtessdoan]

Can you post a picture and a video?

 

[mtessdoan]

Can you post a picture and a video?

Can you post a picture and a video?

I was shaking a bag of worms that usually gets all the girls coming. She didn't even flinch.

The site won't let me upload the video so I put it in dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/s/d15e4p88wph2n6w/IMG_5373.MOV?dl=0

 

[KikiLeigh02]

Is there any chance something scared her? I read an article about a hen who froze like that when a hawk got too close.

 

[mtessdoan]

Is there any chance something scared her? I read an article about a hen who froze like that when a hawk got too close.

doubtful because this has been going on since Saturday, getting progressively worse The other red sex-linked hen who did the same thing got worse over a few days until she was fully unresponsive in the coop...

 

[casportpony]

Can you upload the video to YouTube or Vimeo then copy/paste the link here? I can't see the video on my phone or iPad, they're both too old.