- Jul 22, 2011
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To start... I'm a novice chicken-keeper. I was raised with chickens, but was never responsible for their care. So try to bear with me, this is all a little bit new for me.
Goldilocks is my "handicapped" chicken. About the time my flock started to feather out, she began wobbling, for lack of a better way to describe it. It's seemed as though her leg and abdominal muscles were weak. I never found any good explanation for it, but she seemed otherwise okay - always a good appetite, active and hung out with the other girls, etc. It hasn't gotten progressively worse, and she's always seemed to manage just fine. She holds her tail down, her wings hang rather limp from her body, and she stumbles/wobbles frequently. From what I've read of Marek's though, it's not that. It seems my other hens would have caught that by now, wouldn't they? They are this year's chicks, about 5 months old now.
Anyway, Goldi layed her first egg the other day - covered in blood, mucous, and feces. I could tell when I gathered it that she'd had a hard time with it. I had hoped it would be the only time she struggled too much, it being her first egg. But today she became egg bound, and prolapsed. It was a rather horrifying ordeal, but she did manage to get the egg out with the help of warm water baths and olive oil massage on her vent. But her vent... and what looks like likely some other part of an internal organ... are still hanging outside of her body.
I've currently got her separated from the other chickens in a shaded area with plenty of food, water, and fresh greens. She's walking normally again - well, normally for her - and is pecking at bugs and drinking. But still prolapsed.
Is there any chance of saving her? And with her 'disability', is this likely to keep happening? As much as I love her and would love to help her live, that's no life for a chicken to live. I'm struggling with whether we should just put her down tonight or not. Can this prolapse be fixed? I read about Preparation H cream but haven't tried it - the advice on that has been mixed. Is it even worth trying at this point?
I'd love some (gentle) advice from anyone with more experience than I have.
Julie
Goldilocks is my "handicapped" chicken. About the time my flock started to feather out, she began wobbling, for lack of a better way to describe it. It's seemed as though her leg and abdominal muscles were weak. I never found any good explanation for it, but she seemed otherwise okay - always a good appetite, active and hung out with the other girls, etc. It hasn't gotten progressively worse, and she's always seemed to manage just fine. She holds her tail down, her wings hang rather limp from her body, and she stumbles/wobbles frequently. From what I've read of Marek's though, it's not that. It seems my other hens would have caught that by now, wouldn't they? They are this year's chicks, about 5 months old now.
Anyway, Goldi layed her first egg the other day - covered in blood, mucous, and feces. I could tell when I gathered it that she'd had a hard time with it. I had hoped it would be the only time she struggled too much, it being her first egg. But today she became egg bound, and prolapsed. It was a rather horrifying ordeal, but she did manage to get the egg out with the help of warm water baths and olive oil massage on her vent. But her vent... and what looks like likely some other part of an internal organ... are still hanging outside of her body.
I've currently got her separated from the other chickens in a shaded area with plenty of food, water, and fresh greens. She's walking normally again - well, normally for her - and is pecking at bugs and drinking. But still prolapsed.
Is there any chance of saving her? And with her 'disability', is this likely to keep happening? As much as I love her and would love to help her live, that's no life for a chicken to live. I'm struggling with whether we should just put her down tonight or not. Can this prolapse be fixed? I read about Preparation H cream but haven't tried it - the advice on that has been mixed. Is it even worth trying at this point?
I'd love some (gentle) advice from anyone with more experience than I have.
Julie
