Had a big scare with one of my youngsters this weekend. I have four 10-week-old pullets that were raised by one of our hens who went broody this spring. They are still in their own small coop and yard in a corner of the big pen. When I opened the door in the morning on Saturday only three of them ran out. When I looked inside, Riley was lying on the small platform between the two roosts where she likes to be at night. At first I thought she was dead--she looked like a pile of black feathers. Her head was turned one way and her body another, and both her feet were curled and sticking out to the side. Then I noticed she was still breathing, and when I put my palm against the bottoms of her feet she moved them slightly. There is a small gap between the platform and the wall and when I felt feathers underneath it I pushed and rolled them back onto the top of the platform (I think it might have been her wing stuck down there?) After I did that, she opened her eyes and rolled onto her belly. Then she turned around and hopped off the platform and scurried outside to the yard.
I kept an eye on her throughout the day and made sure she was eating and drinking and pooping, and she was eager to eat the greens I gave everyone later. But she seemed to alternate walking fairly normally with doing a kind of walk/crawl to get around. Sometimes it looked like she was stretching out her wings to keep her balance when she walked and she was resting on her belly a lot. That night when they went into the coop I heard flapping and a thump. Checked and the other three were up on the roost (it's only about 18 inches off the ground in the little coop) and Riley was on the ground. I picked her up and set her on the roost, and she hunkered down and seemed OK. But as soon as I shut the door I heard another thump and there she was on the floor again. It's like her feet weren't able to keep a grip the roost. I'd taken the platform out of there that morning so I guided her into a corner where she settled down. Next morning she was up and about with the others, still doing that occasional weird crawl-wing-flap thing. So I put the platform back across part of the roosts, but this time pushed up against the wall so nothing can get stuck, and that night when I checked on them, Riley was up there with the others--they were on the roost, and she was on the platform, where she didn't have to grip anything to be up high.
That's a lot of lead-in to my real question: Can a chicken have a stroke? I though maybe she just hurt her wing when it got stuck, and that's why she was stretching it out a lot. But she was in such an odd position and not moving at all when I found her in the coop on Saturday. She also seems to almost have a foot cramp sometimes when walking which is when she hunkers down for a while. Has anyone had this happen and, if so, what did you do? As long as she's eating, drinking, pooping and still interested in treats I'm thinking I should just let her be and she'll recover (or maybe always be a special needs chicken roosting on a flat platform)? I also thought of putting a 2x2 strip on the platform so she could practice gripping but not fall or get hurt if she can't do it.
Any other chicken ailments or fits this could be?
Thanks for any input.
I kept an eye on her throughout the day and made sure she was eating and drinking and pooping, and she was eager to eat the greens I gave everyone later. But she seemed to alternate walking fairly normally with doing a kind of walk/crawl to get around. Sometimes it looked like she was stretching out her wings to keep her balance when she walked and she was resting on her belly a lot. That night when they went into the coop I heard flapping and a thump. Checked and the other three were up on the roost (it's only about 18 inches off the ground in the little coop) and Riley was on the ground. I picked her up and set her on the roost, and she hunkered down and seemed OK. But as soon as I shut the door I heard another thump and there she was on the floor again. It's like her feet weren't able to keep a grip the roost. I'd taken the platform out of there that morning so I guided her into a corner where she settled down. Next morning she was up and about with the others, still doing that occasional weird crawl-wing-flap thing. So I put the platform back across part of the roosts, but this time pushed up against the wall so nothing can get stuck, and that night when I checked on them, Riley was up there with the others--they were on the roost, and she was on the platform, where she didn't have to grip anything to be up high.
That's a lot of lead-in to my real question: Can a chicken have a stroke? I though maybe she just hurt her wing when it got stuck, and that's why she was stretching it out a lot. But she was in such an odd position and not moving at all when I found her in the coop on Saturday. She also seems to almost have a foot cramp sometimes when walking which is when she hunkers down for a while. Has anyone had this happen and, if so, what did you do? As long as she's eating, drinking, pooping and still interested in treats I'm thinking I should just let her be and she'll recover (or maybe always be a special needs chicken roosting on a flat platform)? I also thought of putting a 2x2 strip on the platform so she could practice gripping but not fall or get hurt if she can't do it.
Any other chicken ailments or fits this could be?
Thanks for any input.