And by very sudden I mean like perfectly fine and then in less than an hour not walking at all!
I went out to give all the chickens their daily treat of 5 grain scratch, she was as normal as always. This was about 7:30 at night. Shortly after they all went into the coop for the night. At 8:30 I went to count heads and close up the coop for the night. I found this one laying under the roost. My first thought was that she was pushed off with all the shuffling they do every night. I pick her up to put her on the lower part of the roost and she just fell off again. At this point I realize that she wasn't moving her legs very much. She was moving them a small bit but couldn't bare any weight on them.
My first though was she got hurt when she fell / pushed off and was just stunned. She had absolutely no limping or difficulty walking at all an hour earlier.
1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.) Roughly 16 week old Ameraucana. They all seem on the smaller side, however all 4 of these Ameraucana are very skiddish and run from their own shadows! Because of this they run off when eating when any other chicken comes near them.
2) What is the behavior, exactly. Perky, still eating and wags her tail when eating and sitting in the sun. Moves / flaps her wings very well, just not walking, can't hold on to roost, doesn't bare weight on legs. And difficultly balancing when laying down. I either prop her with hay or she'll use her wings to prop herself up
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? 5 days
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? none of the other 48 are exhibiting any symptoms at all
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. No, not a one. That was the first thing I looked and felt for
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. They (49 chickens from 1 week old to 4 years old) were going in for the night. She managed to get in the coop just fine but then was found on the floor 30 minutes later
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. I feed them Purina flock raiser crumbles. They get about 3/4 of a quest of 5 grain scratch between them all in the evenings. Fresh water.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. Looks normal to me. I'm having to rinse her bun several times a day to keep it from clumping up her feathers
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? So far, poultry vitamins and nutri drench in her water. Along with a bit of ACV and honey. Giving her her crumbles with shredded cheese and salmon and fresh strawberries. Whatever she will eat!
I do take her out to the front yard twice a day to let her scratch around. She will scratch at the dirt with her beak and eat grass and cover and bugs
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? As much as we love our chickens, she won't go to a vet. I will treat of it will get her walking again. But after a week of she's not improving then we will cull her
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use. Prior to the incident she was in the coop. It has 3 roost high up and then a 6 ft wide ladder style roost with 4 rungs. There is plenty of room for all, but they still choose to crowd themselves together
ETA VIDEO
here is the first video. This was the following day after finding her on the ground.
Here's the second video taken yesterday
I went out to give all the chickens their daily treat of 5 grain scratch, she was as normal as always. This was about 7:30 at night. Shortly after they all went into the coop for the night. At 8:30 I went to count heads and close up the coop for the night. I found this one laying under the roost. My first thought was that she was pushed off with all the shuffling they do every night. I pick her up to put her on the lower part of the roost and she just fell off again. At this point I realize that she wasn't moving her legs very much. She was moving them a small bit but couldn't bare any weight on them.
My first though was she got hurt when she fell / pushed off and was just stunned. She had absolutely no limping or difficulty walking at all an hour earlier.
1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.) Roughly 16 week old Ameraucana. They all seem on the smaller side, however all 4 of these Ameraucana are very skiddish and run from their own shadows! Because of this they run off when eating when any other chicken comes near them.
2) What is the behavior, exactly. Perky, still eating and wags her tail when eating and sitting in the sun. Moves / flaps her wings very well, just not walking, can't hold on to roost, doesn't bare weight on legs. And difficultly balancing when laying down. I either prop her with hay or she'll use her wings to prop herself up
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? 5 days
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? none of the other 48 are exhibiting any symptoms at all
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. No, not a one. That was the first thing I looked and felt for
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. They (49 chickens from 1 week old to 4 years old) were going in for the night. She managed to get in the coop just fine but then was found on the floor 30 minutes later
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. I feed them Purina flock raiser crumbles. They get about 3/4 of a quest of 5 grain scratch between them all in the evenings. Fresh water.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. Looks normal to me. I'm having to rinse her bun several times a day to keep it from clumping up her feathers
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? So far, poultry vitamins and nutri drench in her water. Along with a bit of ACV and honey. Giving her her crumbles with shredded cheese and salmon and fresh strawberries. Whatever she will eat!
I do take her out to the front yard twice a day to let her scratch around. She will scratch at the dirt with her beak and eat grass and cover and bugs
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? As much as we love our chickens, she won't go to a vet. I will treat of it will get her walking again. But after a week of she's not improving then we will cull her
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use. Prior to the incident she was in the coop. It has 3 roost high up and then a 6 ft wide ladder style roost with 4 rungs. There is plenty of room for all, but they still choose to crowd themselves together
ETA VIDEO
here is the first video. This was the following day after finding her on the ground.
Here's the second video taken yesterday
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