Blind and confused hen.

[The Red Rooster]

Been there done that. I had an EE that got attacked by a dog. She was really weird after that. she'd run in circles and act as though she was dizzy. The poor baby was suffering, and I should have just culled her. She lived for 2 more months before she died a terrible death.

Your baby probably has more hope.

Just show her food and water. I have another blind hen. Her name is Chickadee. She's only blind in one eye, but she gets around just fine.

 

[franh]

Hi Everway 9

Sorry to hear about your chicken, please dont put it down. I've got 2 Pekin chicks that are blind and they are getting on fine, the thing to do like the previous posts say is to make sure she knows where the food and water is. A boiled egg is a good idea, you could mix it up with some cooked rice or torn up bread to tempt her into eating more, I put the food in a bowl and tap the side and call so they can tell where it is, trust me it doesn't take long to learn the tapping noise

We can t really get electrolytes over here but you can get something almost as good, its called Nettex Nutri Drops and you can get it easily on the internet or from a countrywide store or other farmer stores. It a pick-up multi vitamin tonic which you just pop into her mouth once a day for three days. You can also get her some NAFF poultry tonic which will help with the longterm recovery, depends how much you want to spend on her.

Regarding the poo, have you wormed her recently?

She probably would do better with a friend, as she wants to be able to follow an 'able' sight bird and then can copy what she does, mine have adopted a wyandotte pullet who is a month older than them and is a large fowl version. They think she is mum and will call if she is too far away, the pathetic thing is that they are nearly 12 weeks old!

Do you have any poultry markets by you? Or you could try preloved.co.uk as local breeders may well be advertising on there.

 

[JoePa]

Drumstick - We're talking about a chicken - not a human being - do I have the right to decide when an animal has to die - I say - yes - everytime we eat meat someone made that decision - as a hunter I often make that decision - this poor hen does not appear to be happy that's for sure - and from the pictures it seems to be sick - probably suffering - I think - with all respect to those who differ - we can often make decisions that make us feel good but is not the best thing for the animal -

 

[galanie]

Quote:
Yes, but you personally can't make that decision for someone else's bird. I think that was the point.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i think her comb looks fine. Maybe a little wonky, but nothing to get overly alarmed about. It's still a nice red color. Her poo looks a little watery but normal to me. Somewhere (and i can't find it right now) is a link with all kinds of pictures of chicken poo. Sometimes it comes out more solid and sometimes watery. But the best thing would be to get a sample into a vet to run a fecal. That will let you know if she needs to be wormed.

Is she eating okay? i would give her lots of nutritious food, yogurt, mashed hard boiled eggs, along with her regular feed. If you have her in a confined area, tap on the dishes and she will find them. Get some Polyvisol liquid baby vitamins (without iron, very important to get the kind without iron), and give her a few drops each day. You can drizzle them in the side of her beak or put them on something yummy.

i think bringing her in the house, at least for a while is a great idea. i always have a couple of chickens (or ducks) in my house. If someone looks a little off, i bring them in to baby them and watch them. i don't think your chicken looks unhappy. There are people on this board with blind chickens and they get by just fine. You just need to adapt their surroundings a bit. Good for you that you are willing to go the extra mile for her.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Found it! Here is a poo chart: http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

Your hen's looks most like the watery one, which could indicate she isn't eating enough. That makes sense. You just need to get her oriented where she knows where her food is, and make sure she is eating.

 

[Frannabelle]

HI Everway9

I posted a while back about my year old bantam hen suddenly going blind.
I did have her put down, as over the course of a couple of months she couldn't keep up and was not getting enough to eat, even though I was hand feeding her (not a long term solution) She really started losing weight and with Winter on the way, made the hard decision to let her go.

 

[everway9]

Wow. Loads of posts whilst I've been away.

Thankyou all very much for your input.

JoePa, I know what your saying. I am a meat eater and really enjoy it. I was torn between putting it down and helping it. I have made the decision to help it. It may be the wrong thing to do for the hen but I guess only she knows that for sure. She sounds perky enough to me and is eating and drinking now.

I'm going to try my best for our Jessica and feed her what y'all have reccomended and get her wormed. I dont think my girlfriend has had her wormed for ages.

Can I post videos here? I recorded a few yesterday.

Many thanks again all of you.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Glad you are helping her. She is very lucky to have you. You can always change your mind down the line if you think she is suffering.

i'm sure everyone would love to see a video.

 

[everway9]

Will a PhotoBucket upload for a video on this site work the same way as YouTube? I.e. If I put [photobucket] Video URL Here [/photobucket] instead of [youtube] Video URL Here [/youtube]?