Did my chicken have a stroke?

[ChickenHelper23]

Hello,

I found that one of my hens (I have 4 hens only) had a 3in circle wound on her behind that was infested with maggots. I put her in the bathtub and wearing double layer of rubber gloves rinsed the wound and poured peroxide on it, rinsed, peroxide, rinsed, then poured Dawn liquid detergent on it and rubbed until it was all clean, then rinsed again. Afterward putting antibiotic ointment on it. During all that, the hen threw up some white junk, it actually dried some and became a solid rubbery plastic substance. As soon as I was finished (I had been holding her down) I noticed she woudln't get up or move much. I dried her off and put her in a cage inside the house. She stood up, but was wobbly. She ate a few pellets and sat down and went to sleep. That was a little over 24hours ago. Trying to wake her up on and off, she has not stood up on her own since, and she's been asleep since. Her feet are curled up and she can't really move. If I stand her up she just falls over and closes her eyes. She has not ate or drank. She did poop, it was mostly brown with some white in it. I suppose it's time to put her down. It's as if she had a stroke from the pain of me cleaning her wound. What do you think happened?

 

[staceyj]

You didn’t cause this.

This is a which came first question honestly.
Your hen might have become debilitated with an illness which made her vulnerable to the flystrike.

If you don’t know how long it’s been since the flystrike began,
It’s more likely that she’s in shock or suffering from a systemic infection.
You can try to get some liquids in her by putting drops on the top of her beak. It’ll roll down the sides into her mouth for her to swallow.
Electrolytes or even just some sugar in the water might give her a little energy.

 

[ChickenHelper23]

Thank you so much for your reply.

This chicken had been sick before (last year or the year before) and lost all its feathers, but was doing better and grew them back and looking good. I'm not sure how long the flystrike had been there.

I did like you said and mixed some raw honey (we have honey bees) in some bottled water and started pouring it on her beak, she didn't respond the first 2-3 times. But shortly after she started drinking and drank several more times. She's still stiff and not moving though, not able to hold her head up and barely hold her eyes open for a few seconds. Maybe I can nurse her back to health. Would the honey water be good? I don't think spending a lot of money on her is something I want to do. So any easy home remedy tips would be great.

Again, thank you for replying.

 

[ChickenHelper23]

Well, it's no use now. I think she drowned. :'( R.I.P. Mildred. At least she's no longer suffering.

Thanks anyways.

Maybe you can give some tips in case there's a next time.

 

[staceyj]

Oh my. I’m so sorry. Poor Mildred. I don’t think she drowned though. I think she just passed away. I’m glad she’s not suffering anymore too.

This time of year, with the heat and especially in areas where there’s been a lot of rain, the flies are terrible.

It’s a good idea to get out there and look at all your chicken butts to make sure no one is filthy and needs a butt-bath.

The accumulation of excrement isn’t healthy for them anyway and can lead to vent gleet and/or flystrike.

 

[micstrachan]

I’m so sorry you lost Mildred. I have a Mildred, too, that we call Millie.