Hi!
Thank you for answering.
(And for writing in paragraphs!!)
Up until recently, she was perfectly healthy. There were no signs of disease or any issues in her.
She could actually be the "weakest" of the chicks, and you did not notice.
(That would NOT be your fault : sometimes, there really are no obvious signs!!)
But I am not telling you she
is! Just it
could be possible...
When she was a baby chick, she used to eat Chick Starter Grower until she was about month or two, which I have now heard that that was bad until the hens lay eggs.
Hmm... I don't know if I understand what is that you call "Chick Starter Grower".
Is it the
crumble/pullets I saw
(on the internet) they sell to feed chicks
from birth to 16 weeks...?
If it is, I don't know how they could think it is a good idea to sell the food such as...!!
(...Customer
should be able to rely on the informations written on the products they buy, and
so, be CORRECTLY informed -
here on the needs of chicks - by the maker/seller...
Indeed : preferably, 0-8 weeks old and 8-16 weeks old chick should NOT be fed the same thing.
Not that would kill them, of course... we don't need to EXAGGERATE...! But it IS right that some foods are just better to give to chicks depending on their age AND their needs.)
From birth through 5 weeks, I would have recommended you to give them Chick Starter Feed.
We call it "Premier Âge" in France, and it is made and used for (feeding) chicks, ducklings, and goslings
(among others, since it is also used by people who give it to other baby birds they own)...
There is two types of Premier Âge I know of, since they are the only ones I can find and buy not too far way from my place :
- pellet crumbs;
- mixed cereals
(crushed/broken specifically so chickens and ducklings can eat them without risk of choking).
(I personally prefer AND would recommend to use
mixed cereals (with broken/crushed peas - should I call them "split peas"?), because cereal mix just LOOK better than crumbs (for the babies)...
...In the past, I even actually noticed the ducklings I fed cereal mix were very obviously growing stronger than the ones I fed crumbs...!
BUT, in case you would be interested to know for your next chicks : the babies having the better and the healthiest growth were ultimately the ones I mixed food grade Diatomaceous Earth in the food...!
Even the smallest of them, that I was scared would
not survive, has eventually grown
strong...!)
Premier Âge (Chick Starter Feed) is used from birth through 5 weeks...
...after which we then start a food transition by mixing
Premier Âge with
Deuxième Age (...what you
would call
"Chicken Grower Feed", I think?).
And at 8 weeks old, the chicks should preferably NOT be eating any Premier Âge/Chick Starter Feed anymore!
Also about her diet, she usually ate, as a treat, bread. The bread was the usual store-bought bread.
...Is the bread you tell is "store-bought" the
French kind, or the
soft kind (you know : the one used to make Croque-Monsieur...)?
Sorry for the stupid question.
You can give your chickens the French kind one as a treat -
once a week -, but I would personally not give the
soft one...
Nevertheless : I am pretty sure giving bread to your hen did NOT cause such a paralisis...
The rest of the flock ate the bread pieces as a treat, too, so if it was the bread, I would think many of them would be having issues—I think.
Actually, it is NOT because only ONE chicken from all a flock would end in such a condition that food is not bad/dangerous,
and so, not to be blamed.
Some chickens will die from eating some food, while others won't have any symptoms...
In such, they are like people : some die from food poisoning, and some are still healthy after eating the
same thing that killed other people.
But again : you don't have to worry being responsible for your hen's paralizis, because you are NOT.
She also ate as a treat tomatoes, too, which the rest of the flock enjoyed.
Be aware tomatoes,
like other members of the nightshade family, contains a compound called
"solanine".
...Solanine is toxic to chickens.
If you want to give tomatoes to your chickens,
you have to be careful the tomatoes are riped : red, juicy, and NO GREEN PARTS.
(Do not give them leaves or stems!!)
There are people who recommend to cook the tomatoes to give them to chickens, but I personally don't think it is necessary if the tomatoes are sufficiently ripe?
She also had pumpkins as treats.
...I would tell you I really think that : YOU ARE DOING REALLY, REALLY GOOD BY GIVING HER PUMPKINS!!!
(Give pumpkins to your flock, and your birds will love you.)
We have never used chemicals to clean the coop before! We typically scoop out old pine shavings and replace them with new pine shavings, which occurs in the coop floor and in the nesting boxes. We wipe down roost poles, etc. There is no mold in the coop that we know of.
We have never vaccinated our chickens before!
That's great, because you at least know
YOU did not cause any neurological damage to your hen.
Indeed : by not using chemicals AND not vaccinating your chickens,
you did not harm her with some toxic components...!
She was rather friendly, and was not being bullied by the other flock members, although, as I have heard, the flock members still could have striked/attacked her, even if they seemed friendly.
They could, indeed...
...If they did, they could have wounded her; and if they did hurt her and you did not notice, it would be probably because
it would have resulted in an internal injury IN the head...
Chickens can easily die from a blow to the head...
I actually had a young hen that died from that : she was in her coop when I did hear her being very vocal... and
next thing I know, I hear a big
"BOOM!!!" in the coop...
When I did go to see what happened, she was dead in the next box.
What I think happened to her :
1 - she was going to lay her first egg,
2 - another hen, or one of the stray cats, got in the coop and scared her,
3 - being frightened, she wanted to ran away,
4 - since she could NOT get out of the coop, she made big movements out of fear,
5 - in her panic, she eventually hit her head on the roof of the coop
(possible, because of the fact this coop is an Eglu Cube),
6 - shocked by the hit, she just fell dead.
...Chickens are fragile. So they
really can easily die from a blow to head
- EVEN from simply being PECKED... but/and if it
missed, they can then be end up paralized...
Such as your hen, or my rooster...
She had made improvements in how she sits (much more upward and normal-looking), and she has being trying to stand finally!
Congratulations to you!
You really take good care of her.
Even if her condition worsen again eventually - could happen; life is life -, know you really can be proud of yourself!
Yes,
it did.
In my opinion, your hen's condition really can only be the result of a wound (in her head or in her back), OR be the aftermath of a stroke...
Not Marek, not a poisoning from chemicals, not even Vitamin Deficiency - since you ALREADY have given her enough vitamins...
...Obviously not mites or lices either, or worms, or whatever... you know?
Your hen... just was not lucky. Can happen, and nobody could have done
anything to prevent her paralisis...
...Let us know how she is doing over time, please! Thank you.
(Again : you are doing great! Whatever happens to your hen afterwards, you deserve to be told it.)
