Stiletto
On the other side of the road
Symptoms:
- Right eye mostly closed: she's opened it when I've moved her, but it then closes again once she settles
- Possibly slight swelling around right eye and ear lobe?
- Wings drooping
- Tail drooping
- Listless/lethargic, just sitting on bed of wood shavings
- Poo normal
Age: 4 - 4.5 month old Leghorn pullet
Link to image gallery (right-click on thumbnail and 'open in new window' for the larger image & description)
Background:
On Thursday morning I had three chickens delivered. They were fine when I let them out of the box. Later on I spent time with them at sundown and helped them find and settle on their perch for the night; they were all active and seemed fine. (The Leghorn and Araucana jumped onto me in an attempt to find the highest place to roost, which was super cute!)
Yesterday (Friday) I left home early and checked in on them in the afternoon when I got back. I didn't notice anything amiss; the other two pullets came closer and to investigate the grass I tied for them, but they'd seemed bolder/friendlier the day before so it didn't strike me as odd. Also, I didn't stay long as I had to go out again.
This morning (Saturday) the Leghorn was lying in the nesting box when I went into the coop. The other two had been there too, but came out one at a time and approached me as I tied some lettuce up. I stayed for a while, but the Leghorn did not emerge; she appeared to be dozing. When I went to the nesting box to take a closer look at her she run out. As she walked and stood, I saw that her wings were drooping (not her tail) and that her right eye would close. After a few minutes she moved towards a corner of the coop and lay down there.
Today:
I've moved her into a box in the kennel (building) to isolate her from the other two. She has food and water with amino acids in it. When standing in the box, I noticed her tail was visibly drooping. (She was sprightly enough to fly out when I went to put the food in, as she was scared.) Once settled, she lay down again; her right eye closed and her left remained open.
When I've gone in to check on her she's lying down in the same or slightly different place. She's opened her eyes to watch me as I've come in (the gate is noisy) but not moved position - I've kept to about 1m away so as not to upset her. I don't get the impression that she's had anything to eat or drink.
P.S. The only other thing I noticed was that on Thursday evening she was making soft chirping sounds. None of the chickens I've had made such a noise and I thought it was very sweet and soothing. Have no idea whether that has any bearing on her ailment or whether it is a cute feature.
Thank you so much for any help you can give me!
- Right eye mostly closed: she's opened it when I've moved her, but it then closes again once she settles
- Possibly slight swelling around right eye and ear lobe?
- Wings drooping
- Tail drooping
- Listless/lethargic, just sitting on bed of wood shavings
- Poo normal
- Do you know what is wrong with her?
- What can I do?
Age: 4 - 4.5 month old Leghorn pullet
Link to image gallery (right-click on thumbnail and 'open in new window' for the larger image & description)
Background:
On Thursday morning I had three chickens delivered. They were fine when I let them out of the box. Later on I spent time with them at sundown and helped them find and settle on their perch for the night; they were all active and seemed fine. (The Leghorn and Araucana jumped onto me in an attempt to find the highest place to roost, which was super cute!)
Yesterday (Friday) I left home early and checked in on them in the afternoon when I got back. I didn't notice anything amiss; the other two pullets came closer and to investigate the grass I tied for them, but they'd seemed bolder/friendlier the day before so it didn't strike me as odd. Also, I didn't stay long as I had to go out again.
This morning (Saturday) the Leghorn was lying in the nesting box when I went into the coop. The other two had been there too, but came out one at a time and approached me as I tied some lettuce up. I stayed for a while, but the Leghorn did not emerge; she appeared to be dozing. When I went to the nesting box to take a closer look at her she run out. As she walked and stood, I saw that her wings were drooping (not her tail) and that her right eye would close. After a few minutes she moved towards a corner of the coop and lay down there.
Today:
I've moved her into a box in the kennel (building) to isolate her from the other two. She has food and water with amino acids in it. When standing in the box, I noticed her tail was visibly drooping. (She was sprightly enough to fly out when I went to put the food in, as she was scared.) Once settled, she lay down again; her right eye closed and her left remained open.
When I've gone in to check on her she's lying down in the same or slightly different place. She's opened her eyes to watch me as I've come in (the gate is noisy) but not moved position - I've kept to about 1m away so as not to upset her. I don't get the impression that she's had anything to eat or drink.
P.S. The only other thing I noticed was that on Thursday evening she was making soft chirping sounds. None of the chickens I've had made such a noise and I thought it was very sweet and soothing. Have no idea whether that has any bearing on her ailment or whether it is a cute feature.
Thank you so much for any help you can give me!
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