Emergency -- I think my hen had a stroke

[thkosan]

Did my hen have a stroke? What is wrong with her?

My 1 year old white Orpington hen was attacked by a dog and her wing broken. We took her to the vet, where she spent the night. She had her wing wrapped and was put on Baytril for the bite wounds and Meloxicam for pain. We give her these twice a day by mouth. I am very skilled at giving liquid meds to chickens so I am certain that I did not cause her to aspirate. Last night (day six after the attack) I gave her her meds and then went to put her back in the dog crate where she is put at night so she can’t move around too much. She freaked. Just freaked: wing flapping, screaming, fighting me to not go in the crate. I put her in anyway and she literally keeled over. I picked her up and put her on the floor and she could not walk. She is shaky and has no balance. She rocks and falls over. She is panting. This morning was the same, she still can’t walk. She is still panting. Her feet and legs work fine – it is her balance. She cannot move forward. She is rocking her head and seems very, very distressed. Her poops look normal. She wants to eat and drink but is having trouble getting there on her own. I put her on a towel so that she has some traction. She just slips and slides over the solid ground otherwise. When she tries to eat she falls forward, so I have put her food dishes up on blocks. Has anyone else ever seen such a thing? If so, anything I should do? The vet is closed until Tuesday….

 

[SpottedCrow]

Oh jeeze...she might have had a mini stroke...
She could get better, just keep her warm and quiet.
Or she could have something wrong in her ears...
please keep us posted.

 

[thkosan]

She started to panic in the playpen -- I could not keep her calm and quiet so I let her out into the sunroom. She is walking, but like a person with palsy: very, very shaky. It is so sad.

My husband thinks this may have started with the dog attack as she was unable to perch afterward (we thought from pain and the broken wing.) She was never vaccinated for Marek's and I wonder if the stress of the attack has brought out the virus -- but then she would be paralyzed and not palsied. She can't control her foot and leg muscles very well, but she is walking.

 

[Renee]

Gee, it could be anything. I wouldn't suspect a disease, since she has been through so much trauma. It might be that there were other injuries that were not evident to the vet and are only now affecting her.

I hope she gets better.

 

[thkosan]

She's on the way to the vet with my husband as I type. They agreed to see her on a Sunday...

 

[Renee]

Good luck at the vet, and please let us know how she is doing.

 

[SpottedCrow]

I'm so glad they could see her.

 

[Suellyn]

Please keep us posted.

Yes, she could have dislodged a blod clot internally or something (stroke), or perhaps developing an infection with a bacteria that is resistant to baytril... Maybe vet will give her steroids or something if inflammation/swelling (around brain?) is a possibility... kinda a "secondary to trauma of attack" sort of scenario...

???????????? Don't know, just guesses off the top of my head.... ???

Let us know.

 

[thkosan]

Well, the vet suspected heavy metal poisoning -- which makes no sense time-wise. The test is very expensive so we decided to give her the meds, in addition to injectable Baytril. Vet said that within 48 hours she should be walking and moving normally if it is heavy med poisoning. Well... 48 hours later and she is fine. Walking normally. Was it the massive antibiotics? Or the antidote for heavy metals? No idea. But it looks like she is going to pull through. She's certainly feeling better -- she kicked my duck out of the playpen where she (the duck) sleeps and then settled down for the night. Poor duck spent the night on the floor.

 

[chickensioux]

Funny how these little girls get under your skin. You sound like me, I fret and luckily have a hubby that gets involved and is willing to spend money to fix issues. Best of luck and hope all stays well...