Hen cannot stand or pull legs under herself >24hrs

[MrsEarthern]

One of my year old Black sex-links seemed to have disappeared, but she was buried alive by flock. I found her and an egg partially buried in a corner of the run on day 2 or 3.
She was lethargic, but took water when offered, then ate an egg yolk after encouragement. I gave Sav-a-chick Electrolytes and probiotic. She is now eating and drinking with gusto 24 hrs after rescue, but still cannot stand or pull her legs under herself. She is moving around with her feet and wings, but not well.
I feel so bad, she was in a bad state for a while and I did not do a detailed check of the enclosed coop run the evening I noticed her missing, instead I checked trees and the yard.
The other birds are fine, no symptoms, but they are pecking at distressed hen's comb and feet. The rooster is taking advantage of her reduced mobility.
I can't find any obvious signs of injury; her comb is ok, vent looks normal. I have no idea how to tell about broken bones but she is using both wings and feet. All I know is that this hen is low in the pecking order and may have been beaten up by the other birds or could have been injured by wind in a recent storm, and I know she was dehydrated due to distance from the water.
The flock has been eating medicated high protein layer crumble for the past few weeks because that is all I could get, in addition to foraging in the run.
The other birds were pooping on her, and she was rolling around in it, but around her vent she had some normal poop, and I believe one black, tar-like poop came from her.
Today, I soaked and bathed her with diluted Dawn, and have sat with her several times to be sure she's eating and drinking, and she has been moving around more.
I do not intend to vet her, but would like to help her if I can.
Coop is an a-frame with hardware cloth enclosed run, bedding is straw and pine shavings.

She is not completely dry, but I am afraid to put her up into the coop for fear she'll throw herself out in the morning.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your lame hen. I wonder if she could have been injured by the rooster, or by the hens. The other suspicion would be Mareks disease. Do you know if she was vaccinated for Mareks? I would separate her inside a wire dog crate or pen with her own food and water near, but leave her with the flock for company. Since she is moving about, she should be able to get food and water placed close by. I would lift up to a standing position a few times a day to see if she is improving. If she becomes more disabled, you may want to make her a chicken sling chair with food and water in front of her. Here are some examples on the first 2 pages:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

 

[MandS]

Poor little thing.

I had a hen who couldn't stand up. I found that giving her tuna in spring water seemed to give her whatever she was lacking and she started to be able to stand after a few days. She did recover and lived back with the flock for another 3 months.

Unfortunately she started to struggle to walk again and eventually she could not get back on her feet. She was then kept in a cage in the house with me feeding her and massaging her legs 4 or 5 times a day. She never recovered walking but lived happily for another 5 months. She was quite old and was very happy to be handled.

I don't know if it will help, but it's been tuna that's worked for her and one other who lost the ability to walk. Not too much though - about a teaspoon a day.

If she's eating and drinking, that's a good sign. Don't let her get cold and because she's been dehydrated, try to encourage drinking.

One other similar incident happened a few years ago with another hen. During the night, something must have scared her and she banged her spine on the coop. She was laying on her side, more or less like your last picture. I didn't think she would recover but she did after about a week or so. The vet told me that the spine is vulnerable to injury on a hen and if so, it gets bruised but can recover once the bruising goes.

I think you're doing everything you can, particularly with the electrolytes and probiotics. If at all possible, keep her separated from the others and warm, particularly at night.

I wish you luck.

 

[MrsEarthern]

Thank you both, Eggcessive and MandS, for your response.
I think I am leaning toward injury; there have been no obvious signs of illness. She had one black, tarry poop yesterday but all her poops today looked normal. No one has had green poops or diarrhea.

The first photo was where I laid her after finding and treating her, and letting her warm up in the sun for a while; the rooster and hens were bothering her when she was exposed in the open. The last three photos were today after her bath, which I dare say that she enjoyed. The last photo was where I placed her for the evening. When I checked on her a little while later she had turned herself the other way.

We had brutal winds overnight when I thought she'd disappeared, I had let them forage in the run and forgotten to lock them in the coop before leaving for work, and in the morning when I fed and watered them I saw the pile of bedding in the corner but didn't investigate. When I found her yesterday she was visibly dehydrated, but her comb color was much better today. She had dragged herself from out of the pile to below the hanging feeder and laid an egg. She has been eating and drinking well since I found her, and despite the coordination issue she doesn't seem to be weak. She can pull her legs in, or push out with them, and can grasp with her toes; she just doesn't seem to be able to balance on them when sitting or upright. She is sitting on her bum, using her feet to push and her wings to pull, and moving her head around fine. She had no trouble keeping her head oriented while she was swaddled and I was walking around or swaying. She was also much more alert after her bath, and has been greeting me with chirps and purrs when I check on her.
I will try some tuna, she is such a sweet girl.

 

[MrsEarthern]

Update:
I went out to check on her and someone had eaten all the food I had left beside her so she pushed herself under the feeder again. I gave her some tuna, water, feed, and oyster shell. I placed her back in her cubby and let her sit on my hands/held her feet until her feet warmed up (Were cool to touch ), she did almost stand for a minute while drinking; she got her feet under herself, but didn't fully stand. I checked for dampness and then got her balanced laying on her feet as best I could, she's still got a slight lean, but is holding herself up and after I fussed with smoothing her feathers she settled right in. I would say she is 85-90% dry, it's about 55 F overnight here, so I hope that is enough. Other than her feet, she felt as warm as the rest of the birds. She should be mostly out of the wind if she stays in the cubby.

I unfortunately cannot separate her, but have repositioned the hanging feeder so it is about a foot closer to her and she can access it from the ground.

Her name is Elvira, and she has purred her appreciation.

 

[MandS]

I'm glad Elvira is making progress.

Chickens can tolerate being wet for a while but it's better if they can dry out as it allows proper regulation of their temperature.

If she's not getting enough food due to mobility or bullying issues, then really make sure you are able to feed her yourself when you can because food is going to be important if there's illness or injury (obviously not in certain things like crop issues, which this isn't).

Again, best of luck to you and Elvira.

 

[MrsEarthern]

I'm glad Elvira is making progress.

Chickens can tolerate being wet for a while but it's better if they can dry out as it allows proper regulation of their temperature.

If she's not getting enough food due to mobility or bullying issues, then really make sure you are able to feed her yourself when you can because food is going to be important if there's illness or injury (obviously not in certain things like crop issues, which this isn't).

Again, best of luck to you and Elvira.

Thank you, I absolutely will and I will make an effort to finish my 'Hospital' ASAP.

 

[SourRoses]

You've got to separate her. Chickens are not compassionate. They will eat her food, pick on her, jump on her, exacerbate her injuries, etc.
If you don't have something like a cage you can isolate her in while leaving her in the run with her flock, then bring her into your house. We currently have a pullet in our shower who began to have problems yesterday. During the day we put her out in a covered play pen next to the run. That way she can get sun and see her flock mates, which encourages them to eat and to try.

As it is, your hen is looking pretty poorly. If you can't protect her from the others the next best option is to humanely put her to sleep with the broomstick method, otherwise she will be tormented.

 

[MrsEarthern]

You've got to separate her. Chickens are not compassionate. They will eat her food, pick on her, jump on her, exacerbate her injuries, etc.
If you don't have something like a cage you can isolate her in while leaving her in the run with her flock, then bring her into your house. We currently have a pullet in our shower who began to have problems yesterday. During the day we put her out in a covered play pen next to the run. That way she can get sun and see her flock mates, which encourages them to eat and to try.

As it is, your hen is looking pretty poorly. If you can't protect her from the others the next best option is to humanely put her to sleep with the broomstick method, otherwise she will be tormented.

At this time, I can't. She is doing better. I know I should have set up our 'Hospital' before I got them, but it didn't happen. I can't bring her into the house, and I don't have anywhere safe to separate her- I have a four year old, a large dog, and three cats.
I usually sit with them several times a day and have no issue doing so specifically to make sure she's eating and drinking until I can complete a safe place for her.
Can't even begin to tell you how many times I refilled that waterer today because the they were throwing so much bedding at her.

 

[SourRoses]

You don't have a crate for the dog or cats, or a playpen for the kid? Do you have any friends or neighbors who might lend you either of those things?
With an immobile chicken, even a big plastic storage tote with wire for a roof instead of the lid can work. A small space makes it easier for them to get to the water and feed, as long as there is good airflow so they don't overheat.

Chickens need to eat every 30 minutes or so. They don't do big infrequent meals like humans. Water should always be available during daylight hours.



As it stands, this hen is being raped while injured / sick, which means the rooster is also yanking her neck feathers to pull her head back until she submits while trying to balance with legs that aren't working right. Who knows what added pain his weight is causing her, or the effect on her ability to breathe.
She's starving to death and dehydrated if only being fed during your visits.
She's being abused by her other flockmates because they see illness and injury as weakness that must be eradicated from the flock, which gets worse as it goes along.

And I can perfectly understand not knowing what to do or encountering difficulties getting something done in time to help a bird (it happens to us all).
Put yourself in her shoes. She can't tell you what her life feels like right now, so you have to imagine it, and act mercifully.