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Any suggestions?
I acquired eggs for my broody hen, two (of 8) chicks hatched... one chick, appears to have some sort of "palsy" They are about two weeks old, and she "shakes" all the time, she can stand a bit, but falls over, and takes a while to get back up. Momma hen leaves her behind since the other chick can follow. I've been feeding her meal worms and vit "B" once or twice a day, she is growing, just does not appear to be getting stronger. We are pretty "emotionally" invested in this little chick, and don't know if there is anything we can do for her. If we take her away from momma and her sibling she cries until we put her back.
 
nicollee said:
Any suggestions?
I acquired eggs for my broody hen, two (of 8) chicks hatched... one chick, appears to have some sort of "palsy" They are about two weeks old, and she "shakes" all the time, she can stand a bit, but falls over, and takes a while to get back up. Momma hen leaves her behind since the other chick can follow. I've been feeding her meal worms and vit "B" once or twice a day, she is growing, just does not appear to be getting stronger. We are pretty "emotionally" invested in this little chick, and don't know if there is anything we can do for her. If we take her away from momma and her sibling she cries until we put her back.
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I haven't had any of my chicks end up like that, so I don't know what to tell you to do about that chick. I hope that it get's better for you. If you decide to acquire hatching eggs for broodies again, maybe you should try another place next time?
 
BlueBaby said:
I haven't had any of my chicks end up like that, so I don't know what to tell you to do about that chick. I hope that it get's better for you. If you decide to acquire hatching eggs for broodies again, maybe you should try another place next time?
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I'm pretty sure the poor hatch rate was due to the excessive heat...
The first chick hatched two days early, then this chick, then one dried out while trying to hatch, ... two more failed to hatch, I think because she left the nest, and I had to borrow an incubator... one was black jelly, and two failed early
 
MagicChicken said:
I have some extra pullets. Supposed to be black javas. The ones I am selling are showing a mixed ancestry, so I don't want to keep them in my breeding program. They're great if you just want backyard birds. I'm in Tucson.
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:goodpost: right on magic Chicken thats so very nice of you ,and its so nice our AZ BYC thread is such a wonderful group of helpful and caring Arizonians...! im so glad we all know each other...!:woot :highfive: :thumbsup
 
Hi AZ BYC thread followers, hope you are ready for the beautiful weekend. I want to see if anyone has the same experience and what should I do? We had a bobcat attack Wednesday of last week, I believe it was a pair of bobcats, they took one of the hens and my husband chased after one of the bobcats and the bobcat dropped our rooster from his mouth. The bobcat was holding on to the rooster in the center body part of the rooster. The bobcat jumped over our 6' blocked wall with the rooster. We took the rooster to an avian vet and the rooster is not recovering even though we are giving him his anti inflammatory shots and his pain pills. He refuses to use his legs to get up even though the vet said the rooster hurt his right knee only. Any advice to encourage the rooster to use his legs to stand. Right now we have to hand feed him daily and change his bedding. It's not a long term solution though. Any input is appreciated.
 
Eighty806 said:
Hi AZ BYC thread followers, hope you are ready for the beautiful weekend. I want to see if anyone has the same experience and what should I do? We had a bobcat attack Wednesday of last week, I believe it was a pair of bobcats, they took one of the hens and my husband chased after one of the bobcats and the bobcat dropped our rooster from his mouth. The bobcat was holding on to the rooster in the center body part of the rooster. The bobcat jumped over our 6' blocked wall with the rooster. We took the rooster to an avian vet and the rooster is not recovering even though we are giving him his anti inflammatory shots and his pain pills. He refuses to use his legs to get up even though the vet said the rooster hurt his right knee only. Any advice to encourage the rooster to use his legs to stand. Right now we have to hand feed him daily and change his bedding. It's not a long term solution though. Any input is appreciated.
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First, I am sorry you and your rooster are going through this. Predator attacks are traumatic.

If your rooster isn't even trying to use his legs to get up, it is because he CAN'T use his legs to get up. I am not sure what you mean by "hurt his right knee only." What kind of "hurt?" Either there is a bad sprain, or nerve damage, or a broken bone, or infection, or muscle damage, or something specific to cause the leg to not work properly.

The not-so-simple acts of giving shots and pain pills may be stressing out the bird and prolonging his recovery. This may not be true in your case but it is a possibility to consider. Birds have a phenomenal ability to heal themselves. Over-treating can interfere with that ability.

There are avian vets who know what they are doing, and there are "avian vets" who don't have much practical knowledge about birds at all but they might have taken a class once. Few avian vets know anything about chickens. Most know something about parrots. Chickens are different from parrots.

You might have better luck discussing the situation with a wildlife rehab person who deals with quail and other ground-dwelling birds. They could probably help you figure out a physical therapy program, assuming you have a diagnosis more specific than "hurt his right knee."

One other thing to look for is infection. Cat saliva contains germs that chicken immune systems may not be able to shake. Even a small bite wound can cause a serious infection. And a small bite wound can easily be missed on a chicken body covered in feathers.

Keeping a sick or injured bird calm and warm will usually do more for their recovery than any active treatments. Make sure that food and water is within easy reach. Especially if the rooster can't use his legs. If a broken bone is involved, recovery may take several weeks.

Several weeks of isolation is likely to stress him out. Chickens are social birds. If he is going to be in a recovery cage for a long time, you may need to provide a chicken friend in a way that doesn't interfere with his physical recovery.

(My preferred solution would have been a few days of isolation/recovery time, then into the stew pot if he wasn't improving - assuming I was reasonably sure he didn't have an infection. I wouldn't eat him now, since he's been given all that medication.)

Good luck. I hope his health improves soon.
 
I have 3 chicks that need a new home. Unfourtnetly I have to give the away because I don't have enough room for them. Two of them are roos and one is a hen, they are speckled sussex bantams. I live in surprise.
 

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