Drunk Chicken

[buggal]

Ok So she really isn't drunk but she is staggering around like she is... She will be looking at you in the eye and start working sideways. She is also going through molt. Poor little thing looks homeless and drunk. It is like her equilibrium has been thrown off. She is not shaking her head or scratching at her face. We have taken her out of the flock, just in case. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated...
Thanks
Lisa

 

[buggal]

Here is a picture of her

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Ok So she really isn't drunk but she is staggering around like she is... She will be looking at you in the eye and start working sideways. She is also going through molt. Poor little thing looks homeless and drunk. It is like her equilibrium has been thrown off. She is not shaking her head or scratching at her face. We have taken her out of the flock, just in case. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated...
Thanks
Lisa

Poor thing.

Molting is very hard on them and some chickens tend to isolate themselves from the flock during this time, even to the point they don't appear at the water/food stations. Make sure she is drinking well, it could be dehydration. If when offered water, she drinks a lot, then most likely this is it. Keep her separated for at least the day to get her hydrated and fed.

Any chance she ate anything moldy or rotten?
Have you added any new chickens to your flock recently - anyone else have any illness?

If you have them, add some poultry vitamins to her water and offer some extra protein like egg, tuna, mackerel or meat to her diet (in addition to her normal feed).

Carefully inspect her ears to make sure there are no lice/mites inside them and they are clear of any type of debris/pus/infection.

Let us know how she is doing.

 

[buggal]

No new chickens in the flock. I don't think she ate anything moldy. I usually look over their feed pretty good. I have some birds in another coop that have a sinus infection but they have been isolated also. (not in the same area) Even when they were "well" they did not have access to one another. Our drunk chicken is walking better today. We don't have any vitamins but my husband gave her a banana, high protein chicken food. I don't know how well she drank this morning but she sure was mad at us when we took her away from the flock last night. She didn't calm down until we were out of sight.

 

[Isaac 0]

Are you sure she didn't creep into the fridge last night and crack open a whisky?



Eggs
Honey
Oregano
Molasses

Are very high in protein.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

No new chickens in the flock. I don't think she ate anything moldy. I usually look over their feed pretty good. I have some birds in another coop that have a sinus infection but they have been isolated also. (not in the same area) Even when they were "well" they did not have access to one another. Our drunk chicken is walking better today. We don't have any vitamins but my husband gave her a banana, high protein chicken food. I don't know how well she drank this morning but she sure was mad at us when we took her away from the flock last night. She didn't calm down until we were out of sight.

How's she doing? Any better? Sometimes a molting chicken needs a little extra TLC.

I've also found a molting chicken can be very angry

Are you sure she didn't creep into the fridge last night and crack open a whisky?



Eggs
Honey
Oregano
Molasses

Are very high in protein.

Agree @MasterOfClucker but go easy on the molasses...it is an effective laxative in chickens and can be used for toxin flush as well

 

[buggal]

Poor thing.

Molting is very hard on them and some chickens tend to isolate themselves from the flock during this time, even to the point they don't appear at the water/food stations. Make sure she is drinking well, it could be dehydration. If when offered water, she drinks a lot, then most likely this is it. Keep her separated for at least the day to get her hydrated and fed.

Any chance she ate anything moldy or rotten?
Have you added any new chickens to your flock recently - anyone else have any illness?

If you have them, add some poultry vitamins to her water and offer some extra protein like egg, tuna, mackerel or meat to her diet (in addition to her normal feed).

Carefully inspect her ears to make sure there are no lice/mites inside them and they are clear of any type of debris/pus/infection.

Let us know how she is doing.

Gave her some mackerel yesterday and as soon as I put it down she went after it. She is walking normally now but it is going to rain for the next few days and get cold so I am planning on keeping her in a warm dry area (our barn) until the rain passes.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Quote:
Gave her some mackerel yesterday and as soon as I put it down she went after it. She is walking normally now but it is going to rain for the next few days and get cold so I am planning on keeping her in a warm dry area (our barn) until the rain passes.

Glad to hear she is doing better

I suspect she wasn't taking care of herself like she should. One of mine recently seemed to be having a hard time during molt. I made sure she was eating/drinking well, now she is looking lovely and acting normal. Mackerel is a good source of protein. It sounds like you have a good plan in place for her recovery.

Keep us posted.

 

[centrarchid]

Did hen have access to rotting fruit on the ground? Birds can get drunk easily, including chickens. Persimmons and water melon are to be watched.


My account from last year linked below.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1053409/intoxicated-drunk-chickens

 

[buggal]

Update on my Drunk Chicken,

She is doing good. No longer walking around like she's drunk. She is still pretty mad, I am guessing because she is away from the flock and not able to walk around and forage. She is still inside in a pen. It is way too cold for a chicken missing a lot of feathers to be roaming around. Last night it got down to 22 here. We haven't seen the temp go that low in over 2 years. She has a nesting box, food, water and a small heater (on the outside of the pen) that blows into one side of the area. She can use it to keep warm or not...her choice. Our temperatures are supposed to warm back up today so depending on how warm it gets she may have some time outside today.
Thanks for all that has taken an interest in my Drunk Chicken (I call her Jenna after one of my husbands old girlfriends that was a heavy drinker) Is that wrong of me? Hee Hee Hee