Droopy wing, old hen

[ChristinaMay]

Hi everyone, I’m hoping for some advice. I have a 5 year old red sex link, she’s the last of my original 6 hens. She’s lowest in the pecking order in my coop of 11 hens and a Brahma rooster. 3 years ago one of my horses stepped on her leg and broke it, but we were able to splint it and she recovered great and has done well aside from a slight limp. She always laid giant eggs and a month ago she laid a soft shelled egg and hasn’t laid again since. I’ve been keeping an eye on her and she’s been acting fine (I lost her sister to EYP in December so was fearful she was next). I noticed yesterday that her left wing was dropped a little, not dragging but noticeable dropped. She’s been sleeping on the coop floor. This morning when I opened the coop she came running out last and ran right into a bush to hide. I picked her up (and beat my rooster off) and checked her wing out and it seems fine? She’s not puffy, comb is nice and red, poops are good and shes not thin. When I put her down she ran under the coop stairs to hide, and a couple of my other older hens went and guarded her. Do you think she is being attacked by my rooster? I haven’t seen him mate her since she stopped laying, and she’s not bare of the back like the rest of my hens from him. I don’t want to separate her unless absolutely necessary because reintroducing is always so stressful, but if he’s attacking her because of her strained wing I might have to? Thoughts? Thank you in advance!

 

[Eggcessive]

It will probably take some more observing to determine what to do. Chickens will sometimes attack a flock member who exhibits odd behavior. I would consider removing the rooster to a crate or pen for a short time, to see if she still seems afraid, or if others start bullying or attacking her. But it might be that she will need to be separated herself.

Have you added any new birds to your flock recently? I would place multiple waterers around if you already don’t, to make sure that she is able to get plenty of water. Poultry NutriDrench 2 ml daily might be good to use for 2-3 days just to give her a boost.

 

[MoffatChicken]

I just posted a question about my rooster with similar issues as your hen. He also has dropped wings and sometimes sleeps on the floor of the coop because he can't keep his balance on the roosting bar any more, I've witnessed him fall off the bar and land on his side. I will be following your post to see if any of the answers can be helpful to me too. Thanks

 

[ChristinaMay]

It will probably take some more observing to determine what to do. Chickens will sometimes attack a flock member who exhibits odd behavior. I would consider removing the rooster to a crate or pen for a short time, to see if she still seems afraid, or if others start bullying or attacking her. But it might be that she will need to be separated herself.

Have you added any new birds to your flock recently? I would place multiple waterers around if you already don’t, to make sure that she is able to get plenty of water. Poultry NutriDrench 2 ml daily might be good to use for 2-3 days just to give her a boost.

Thank you for your response! I haven’t added or removed any hens since last winter. She’s always been skittish of the rooster, but she’s never ran and hid like she did today before. I noticed once last week she was the last into the coop and he attacked her when she came in quickly. Sometimes she will hesitate to go in if he’s already in there. I do have multiple waterers out.

 

[ChristinaMay]

Update: I pulled her and upon inspection without being attacked by a rooster, her belly is swollen and her wing is definitely injured. Looks like she was bullied. She’s resting now in her own stall in my barn, I have a feeling she laid internally going to give her nutridrench and keep an eye on her and hope for the best.

 

[Eggcessive]

Salpingitis which causes egg material to be deposited inside the abdomen and sometimes expelled through the vent, can cause the lower abdomen to be swollen. Fluid or ascites from reproductive disorders and liver/heart problems also can do that. Those are very common in hens over 2 and a common cause of death. She may live a good while longer if she continues to eat and drink well. When I lose one from something similar, I usually do a brief necropsy to look inside the abdomen. Cancer of the oviduct is also very common.

She might do well in a dog crate with food and water near the other chickens, where she can see the others. Let us know how she gets along. Sometimes you can wrap the wing in a figure 8 bandage to the body, but if her wing is not dragging the ground, she might be more comfortable without one.

 

[ChristinaMay]

Salpingitis which causes egg material to be deposited inside the abdomen and sometimes expelled through the vent, can cause the lower abdomen to be swollen. Fluid or ascites from reproductive disorders and liver/heart problems also can do that. Those are very common in hens over 2 and a common cause of death. She may live a good while longer if she continues to eat and drink well. When I lose one from something similar, I usually do a brief necropsy to look inside the abdomen. Cancer of the oviduct is also very common.

She might do well in a dog crate with food and water near the other chickens, where she can see the others. Let us know how she gets along. Sometimes you can wrap the wing in a figure 8 bandage to the body, but if her wing is not dragging the ground, she might be more comfortable without one.

i might move her to a dog crate in the coop, I’m going to keep her separate for a couple days just to see how she does where I’m close to supplies. She was resting comfortable when I checked on her just now, she’s drank and ate a little and got up and started pecking around when I went out there. She keeps walking along the wall and leaning on it? She’s leaning entirely to the side with the droopy wing (left), but seems more annoyed that her left foot touches her wing when she takes a step than anything, but she can lift it a bit too so I’m thinking the rooster maybe tried to mount her and she sprained it. I’ll keep an eye on her belly, her poops look completely normal so I’m happy to see that. But she definitely has a swollen belly. Thank you for your advice and I’ll keep you updated!

 

[ChristinaMay]

Update - my girl definitely has EYP In the last 3 days her belly has gotten more swollen and her poops are signature EYP poops. I’ve now had 2/6 of my red sex links develop EYP by 5 years old. I’m treating her with amoxicillin, but I know the diagnosis is ultimately fatal - her comb is starting to flop and her walking is very strained because of her belly, but she is still walking around, eating and drinking. Is it selfish to treat her to keep her alive, and ultimately alone because the flock attacked her, when she is going to pass regardless? Would the selfless thing to do be to have my husband cull her when he gets home this weekend? I hate having to put one of my girls down. I love my chickens so much and losing one to illness or predators just stinks so bad, I’m wondering if I’ll ever get used to it. But I don’t want her to suffer. I had my first EYP death in December and I kept her alive for a month just for her to die alone one night. Any advice or stories anyone has to share about EYP would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!