Chicken acting drunk

[rabiee]

My 5.5 month old hen just today has shown some strange behaviors, 5pm she’s in the nesting box (hasn’t started laying yet), 7:30pm go out to lock up and everyone’s on their roosts but her, she’s on the ground stumbling around (it was dusk, but not completely dark out). I pick her up and put her on the roost, but she seems very off balance so I put her in the nesting box. I check her over and she had a little poo on her bum, but no other obvious injuries, her wings were kinda droopy. Could she be egg bound? Or is this something else? They free range during the day as well.

 

[Eggcessive]

It could be several things. I would get her drinking some water with electrolytes, or give her a few drops of Poultry NutriDrench in case she is dehydrated or in shock. I would clean off her vent area with soap and water, to make sure there is no prolapsed vent or maggot infestation. Use a disposable glove and insert a finger up to 2 inches into the vent to check for a stuck egg or egg material. Watch for diarrhea or blood in her poop, which could be coccidiosis.

In the morning, offer fluids orally and some chopped egg. Feel of her crop before she eats to check if her crop has emptied overnight. If it is full, firm or puffy, there could be a crop problem. At this age, she may be having a laying problem, or possibly showing signs of Mareks disease. But being kept from water or food, dehydration, or an illness may be possible. Let us know how she is doing in the morning.

 

[rabiee]

No change this morning, her vent looks normal but she’s still very wobbly on her legs and is just laying down. I put food and water in front of her and crushed up tums but she has no interest. I think I’ll have to use a straw and drop water down her throat, is that ok? Everyone else in the flock seems normal and fine. My rooster is quite a bit bigger than her, could he have hurt her trying to mate?

 

[Eggcessive]

A rooster could well have hurt her, especially if she was trying to avoid him. It is better to get her to drink on her own, or hold water to the side of her beak with a spoon. I will dip the beak into a small cup of water just to get them to drink. It can be easy to choke them if you put too much into their beaks.

Tube feeding is very easy to learn. If you melt a 12 inch section of aquarium air tubing to make it less sharp, you can insert it into the back of the chicken’s right side of the throat, avoiding the large trachea (airway) at the center of the tongue. Push it down into the crop, and connect a 35 ml syringe from your feed store (ask a clerk for one,) and you have a tube feeding set.

Here is a link and video:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ng-guide-pictures-under-construction.1064392/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/updated-go-team-tube-feeding.805728/

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is a picture of how to slip a syringe down the back right of the throat to administer medicines. This is where a tube would go down:

 

[rabiee]

This is her now, she’s just been sleeping like this, she opened her eyes when I opened the door.

 

[rabiee]

Update, we gave her some water and vitimans, she did poop so I don’t think she has an impacted egg? She’s still not moving though.

 

[Eggcessive]

Did you check inside her vent for a stuck egg? Sometimes internal infections can cause pressure on nerves of the legs. But I would make sure that she can reach food and water. I am thinking that Mareks could be possible, but other things can cause imbalance and weakness, such as coccidiosis, dehydration, and others. You may try getting her up to see if she will walk at intervals.

Chicken slings may be helpful with a lame chicken for short periods to get them up and in front of food and water. They are easy to make out of household materials. Here is a good thread with pictures:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

This is a basic design:

 

[rabiee]

She got up but is still not normal. I gave her some more water.

 

[rabiee]

So last night come dusk she was up again and I put her in the coop, she slept on the floor w/ the ducks. This morning she seems skittle better, she was walking slowly and drinking on her own. I tried to give her some cooked egg but she doesn’t seem interested in any food. She went back into to cook and is laying down again. I’m almost wondering if this could be toxic or poisoning?