Help!!!! Hen Staggering! Acts Drunk! R.I.P

[reesepoultry]

Help..... I just bought a pair of nice SQ silkies and the hen was staggering when I got her. i kept her away from my other silkies because she was new. I now have her in the house to try to get her better. I have given her poly vi sol vitamins w/o iron. I had to give her a bath she had poultry lice all over her. Then I dusted her with seven dust. So the lice are gone. She is eating and drinking fine. But she is still staggering. What could cause this?

Thanks for your help

 

[reesepoultry]

Please help...... I don't want her to die on me. what could she have, or what can I do to help her.

 

[redhen]

I dont know..sorry. Did she eay any thing that could be bad/posion? Maybe she was just weak from the lice?? Keep her warm and give her electrolytes..and make her special food. Scrambled eggs..warm oat meal with scratch...

 

[reesepoultry]

thanks,
She seems to be eating okay and drinking fine. she is cooing. But she is still staggering to one side. She didn't get into any poison. I bought her and a roo at the mount hope auction they were a pair. The roo is fine but I did treat him for poultry lice also. then I went on and treated all of my poultry for lice just in case. She came to me with a bad case of lice. I did not have her near any of my poultry and still don't I have her in the house so that I may monitor her. I tried to get her to eat a scrammbled egg but she wouldn't touch it. So I threw in some little pieces of carrot. Not sure if she ate any of it. Do you think that having so many lice could have made her stagger.

 

[hinkjc]

If she's vaulted, she could have a head injury causing neurological symptoms. Not much you can do, but continue vitamins and monitor. Hoping she pulls through for you.

 

[reesepoultry]

I'm not sure if she is vaulted. She has such a big poof on her head I can't tell. She's not even 6 months yet. I am gonna say she is probably 5 months maybe 4 months old. If that helps

 

[Peeper7]

As long as she is not going DOWnhill, there's always a chance she will go UPhill. Supportive nursing care and time may be all she needs. Water, sugar for energy, electrolytes, low stress.
Good luck!

 

[reesepoultry]

okay, thats what I've been kinda trying to do. I just took her outside for a little bit and changed her cage. I also dusted her again to make sure the lice was gone. I didn't see any on her but I wanted to make sure just in case more hatched. She ate a whole scrambled egg for me today. She don't seem to be going down hill. Someone told me to give her some baytril what do you guys think.

 

[Peeper7]

I'm not in favor of using antibiotics unless there is a diagnosis to go with it. Is there a certain disease your friend has in mind?

Staggering could indicate weakness ( ? from the lice maybe) or a temporary or permanent neurological disorder. I'm not familiar enough with chicken disorders to even guess, but supportive care and time will tell....

I just found out what a vaulted skull is... it certainly makes sense now that this could easily be neurological. In people, any kind of brain trauma causes swelling which causes the symptoms. If she had a mild trauma to the head/brain it could all go away in a few days -- maybe longer--but is likely to completely resolve. Keep her very cool.
Please keep us posted-- thanks.

Since my husband just recently had a massive stroke followed by 2 hemorrhages, I've had lots of experience with brain swelling. Also I am a nurse. If he were "vaulted" they may not have had to take out a big piece of his skull to let the brain swell. The swelling was bad for 2 months.

...I've edited this post 3 times now. I see where the Baytril idea may have come from. Here's a link:

http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article.html

 

[reesepoultry]

I don't think she has trauma injury. I am not in favor of giving antibiotics either. She is doing better. She is responding better and a little more active. I am gonna keep her inside for a few more days and keep babying her and nursing her to health. I will keep you posted.

thanks