Help with Starved Hen

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At least a month ago one of our hens went missing. We looked everywhere we could think of at the time and figured that a predator had got her.
Well while working in our barn the other night we found her and she was ALIVE she was trapped between the wall and some boards (2x4 space)
So we gave her water with electrolytes and chick food and hoped for the best.

frankly I'm amazed she is alive and not sure how?

so it has been 3 days since we found her. She is eating and drinking she is sill very very weak and we are starting to wonder if the starvation has caused neurological damage.

Any other tips and advice? on how to feed her? We just put food free choice food out for her, wondering if we should have started with small meals but that ship has sailed.

thank you!
Catherine and the Polish hen now named Lazarus

 

[henny1129]

Continue doing what you are doing....give her plenty of water with electrolytes and free choice food. Do you have other food besides chick food? At this point, it sounds like she needs to be on a layer feed or a flock raiser feed with oyster shells on the side to provide calcium. Perhaps give her some fruit or veggies (blueberries, strawberries, lettuce, etc.)and that may give her a moral boost. I'm really puzzled to how she survived, but I guess she did!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi.

Amazing life finds a way!

I would do the electrolytes and probiotics of Sav-a - chick. Or if it's just electrolytes maybe get the Poly Vi Sol baby vitamins with NO iron and add a couple drops. Making sure it has the B's in it.

Also, boiled smashed eggs is good. Canned tuna or mackerel, or cat food. Chick food is probably good because it is higher in protein than layer and she will need the extra nutrients to restore her condition. Feathers are 90% protein. The extra calcium in layer would be not preferred. You might also consider wetting the food for her. She won't have to drink as much to moisten the food before it digest.

I highly recommend fermenting the feed, it adds the probiotics as well as making other nutrients more available for the chickens body to use. You can check out the link in my signature line and feel free to ask any questions, please.

Wow, really a whole month?! Love the name Lazarus.

I would keep her comfy and calm. Not subject her to the rigors of adding back to the flock while she is week. Maybe in their site though depending on how excited it makes her. You will probably know when she is ready to go back with them. But right now they might try to beat her up.

ETA: Yes I didn't suspect she would be laying but it is good to keep the calcium available free choice. And flock raiser is also a good choice, mine is around 20% protein. It also might be good to make plain fresh water available at least some times.

 

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Thanks for the feedback so far,
I have NO IDEA how she is alive it has been month, I wondered if she has been able to get hold of some mice?? or somehow there was moisture from the ground or meta l wall? or was able to eat any of the eggs she may have laid? I have NO CLUE. She is currently in a wire dog crate in the barn well protected from the weather, she can see the other chickens but no one can bother her she is no way strong enough to be loose. she is eating and drinking and her balance is not good, it could be just she is so weak.

 

[henny1129]

It is possible she had been eating mice or her own eggs. Is there any way that she could have "run away", but then she came back and got stuck in that one area and the only way she was alive was from what she had eaten previously? This was just a thought I had. She is most likely very weak because of not eating/drinking for so long. I would hope that as she starts to eat more and gain weight she'd become more stable and strong. Does she appear to be sick in any way?

 

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I think she had been stuck the entire time. She was between barn wall and plywood wall, had fallen down into the space about that was only 4-5" in depth and we had trouble reaching her as she was 3' down on the ground in that space, that was about 2' wide.
other than being weak we do not see any other issues, my roommate was wondering if she could see, but she is a polish and her feathers block some of the field of vision, I will post a picture of her tonight. I'm just amazed she is alive. She is doing okay eating and drinking so we don't want to stress her with any more handling. she is subdued but not fluffed up, her eyes are open.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Sounds like she is doing well, all things considered!

Eating and drinking is about all you could ask. Her muscles will be weak from the malnutrition but also from the lack of use while she was stuck. When she shows that she has more strength, let her have the space to walk around and practice using those muscles again.

Sometimes malnutrition can cause temporary blindness as well, but she can see the food.

The walls and roof of my metal buildings do sweat like crazy. I am really happy for you. She obviously has a strong will to survive and I wouldn't expect that to change now that she has help and kindness surrounding her! They know.

 

[Kiki]

WOW!
I hope you spoil her rotten FROM* now on!

 

[yellowherb]

Wow. Poor thing! I had a hen go missing for 3 days and when she came back she was dirty and her tail was curved, I could tell she had been stuck somewhere but eventually lost enough weight to free herself. She begged for mealworms the following week, she could not get enough and was very demanding of them. I made her take it easy on them since I already feed a high protein food.

Purina game bird growth and plumage is 28% protein. Helps with feather issues or in this case muscle building. Dried mealworms, 50% protein. There is also kickin' chicken. It's a fatty supplement with some vit E and B12. I'm currently using that on a budgie that was nearly starved to death. He's putting on weight I'm also using a hi calorie cat supplement, but that's probably like Nutri drench for chickens. Molasses is one of the main ingredients and it contains multiple vitamins. Just remember too many vitamins is as bad as too few.

 

[henny1129]

Sounds like she is doing well, all things considered! 

Eating and drinking is about all you could ask. Her muscles will be weak from the malnutrition but also from the lack of use while she was stuck. When she shows that she has more strength, let her have the space to walk around and practice using those muscles again.

Sometimes malnutrition can cause temporary blindness as well, but she can see the food. 

The walls and roof of my metal buildings do sweat like crazy. I am really happy for you. She obviously has a strong will to survive and I wouldn't expect that to change now that she has help and kindness surrounding her! They know.   

X2 on all of this! I'm hoping for a quick and easy recovery for your girl!