Heat Stroke? Losing hope.. One-legged Uno going down fast!

[devin.carlson]

My 3 year old one-legged chicken named Uno, an ISA hen, has always been very healthy and lively. We decided that with the heat being so bad lately, and her inability to get around in the heat without it being strenuous to her, that ventilating the coop more would help her to be more comfortable. (Usually, she hops over to the barn to stay cool but the actual jaunt to the barn in the heat isn't going so well for her. We redid the coop with MUCH more ventilation, and she seemed much more comfortable staying in it. This morning, she was still lively and hopped to me for her morning yogurt and tomatoes. This afternoon, however, I entered the coop to find her on the ground with her wings spread out as if trying to cool off. She was panting and had eyes that were bright but half-closed. She would not stand (with one leg, this usually poses no problem for her) In a panic, I rushed her into the house in a crate, put a fan on her, put a can of BudLight under each wing to cool her (no ice ) and gave her about 100cc of LRS subcutaneously, as well as electrolyte fluid and yogurt via a syringe every half hour or so. It has been about 5 hours and she is still very lethargic, and sleeps unless I rouse her to eat. She layed an egg while in the coop earlier, so I do not suspect her being egg-bound. And for the first time, I found lice on her. With all of this in mind, is there any more I can do?! HELP!!

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

It sounds like she was just trying to cool down at first, but I don't know what she is doing now. I would just keep her comfy and cool for now and see what happens.

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

Sorry no more responses. This will put you back at the top of the list at least.

 

[GrandmaChickie]

I had a hen go down from heatstroke last year. She was completely unconscious when I found her, and it took her almost two days to recover. Just keep doing what you're doing.

 

[devin.carlson]

She's eating and drinking now, which is great.. but she still can't stand. I don't know if she's just too weak?? I'm giving her chick starter crumbles for that extra oompf, cracked corn, yogurt, and electrolyte water. Is there anything more I can be doing?

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

Give her her favorite treat. If that will make her happier then its the best you can do. Sounds like everything else is good, you could even put a little ACV in her water, my chickens love the taste and it might boost her spirit too. If you have some mealworms or something tasty like that, that might make her more comfortable.

I have a prolapsed hen in my house right now, and I saw a huge improvement when I started giving her all of her favorite treats; I think if you can make her happy that is always good.

Hope she gets better!

 

[devin.carlson]

I have been supplying all of her favorite treats and she was wonderful but this afternoon shes pretty low again.. kind of unable to balance even when sitting. And she won't open her eyes, though she will coo and turn her head etc.. giving her pedialyte now too

 

[TeamChaos]

Heat stroke comes on quick but can take quite a while to recover from. You've provided her all of the supportive care she'll need to make a full recovery, now the rest is up to her- let her rest, keep track of her fluids and give her some time. You're a wonderful chicken owner and we're all rooting for Uno's recovery!

 

[TeamChaos]

Also, I'd remove the bud light (ha ha ha ha ha!) and let her body come back to a "normal" temp- sometimes too rapid of a temp change can make a chicken extra shocky and it can take a little longer to wear off. (my first summer having chickens, I thought my Ethel was having heat stroke so I stuck her feet in ice water- she seemed to go down hill so fast, I was sure I was going to lose her. I stopped messing w/ her and put her in a cage in the cool basement and she made a full recovery. I now know that I can help a chicken cool down slowly w/ cool water on the feet, but any temp extreme only stresses the system further- so, as tempting as it might be, don't pack Uno in frosty bud light cans- I'm sure you got her base temp down to a safe range, don't drop it any farther)

 

[devin.carlson]

She seems to have been doing better the last few days - still can't stand, but eating and drinking and cooing all the time. I've seen her balance for a few seconds, only to lay down once more. I'm hoping the extra rations will help build her strength. Any supplements I should be giving her? I'm such a greenhorn!!