Found chicken stuck behind nest box

[Meliswan]

I found my 16 wk old leghorn on her back stuck behind the nesting box. We were unable to hang the boxes the day we carried them into the coop so we just left them on the floor against the wall. They have been in there for about two weeks.
I found her tonight, she was laying on her back. I don’t think that she has been back there for longer than 1 day. She is weak, cold, and has poo/diarrhea all over her back end. I brought her in the house gave her some nutridrench. She definitely percked up after getting warm. I offered her some scrambled egg which she ate a little. I also gave her some pumpkin which she seemed much more I interested in. I will keep her in a dog crate in the laundry room for tonight. I also gave her a bowl of water with electrolytes.

My concern is she is wobbly and unsteady on her feet. I’m hoping that she will have her strength back in the morning.

Is there anything else that I should do?

These are my first chickens and I’m so sad that this is my fault. I pulled the boxes away from the wall and tomorrow they will be hung up.

Thank you for any advice you can give me.

 

[tripletfeb]

I am not an expert but I think what you are doing is exactly the right thing. Keep her warm and food and water available at all times. Bet she will be back to 100% by tomorrow.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry anout your chicken, but glad that you found her in time. I have had a similar thing happen when a hen was trying to escape from others, and she hid behind nest boxes. Also some would sleep on top of them and had one fall behind and get stuck. Look around the coop for other possible problems. Chickens will get stuck upside down on waterers, turn buckets over on themselves, and any item that can fall on them or dorrs than can slam. I have folded up feed bags to block off the area behind nest boxes. Hopefully, she will feel better this mirning, but keep offering electrolytes, water and food. Being stuck can sometimes cause an injury to a leg or wing, or from squeezing, so hopefully she is okay. I always do a head count every evening at roost time to make sure everyone is safe and on the roost. Let us know how she gets along.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Sounds like you did a great job taking care of everything!

 

[gimmie birdies]

Mine are not hanging, but I put chicken wire between the cracks to prevent hens falling behind.

 

[Meliswan]

Thank you! I will post an update in the morning

 

[Aunt Angus]

I'd wait for that bath because it can be stressful. You can clean her up layer when she's more fully recovered. Unless the poop is dirtying an open wound or something, it can probably wait. Poor little thing... I'm glad she's on the mend.

And don't be too hard on yourself. I find that chickens are experts at getting themselves into these situations. Like toddlers. Even if you chicken-proof everything, they'll figure out some way to confound your efforts.

 

[Meliswan]

I think she is going to be just fine! Still not eating as much as I would like, but that could be because of being in the crate away from the others. She is strong and steady on her legs. I didn’t mess with her bottom today just let her rest. I think another night in the house then I’ll get her clean and dry tomorrow and then she can join her sisters. Hubby and I spent some time in the coop hanging the boxes and adding a few more roost bars for the girls to play on.

She does like to have her pic taken

 

[Meliswan]

She is much improved this morning. Pretty alert but only eating a small amount. She is more steady on her feet but still a little wobbly. I will keep her in the house until she looks strong enough to join the flock.

Should I give her a bath? She really made a mess of herself on the backend. If I was her she will definitely stay inside overnight to make sure fully dry before going back out into the cold

 

[Meliswan]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement. I’ll give her a few more hours of rest then get her out and really exam her “undercarriage”. She was so weak last night I didn’t want to do too much to her.