Hen cannot stand or pull legs under herself >24hrs

[MrsEarthern]

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.

As stated, I don't have a way to separate her, and not to be melodramatic, but with five hens to one roo, her life is rape. When I had her laid out in the sunshine, he mounted her twice, which isn't unusual, and no one has bothered her in her cubby.
She has water within reach, and the feeder is accessible a foot away, she had no problem reaching it, eating, and returning to her cubby. She's absolutely not starving or dying of thirst with me fussing over her every hour.
She's alert, moving around, and pecking the hens trying to steal from her personal food stash today.

 

[MrsEarthern]

Update #2:
Elvira is doing much better today, she's standing for short spells and trying to walk by dragging herself along by her wings and pushing with her feet, she looks like a dragon (Think How to Train your Dragon). She's more coordinated but still weak in the legs.
The bad news is that what I thought was a scab appears to be Fowl Pox. All seven birds have it. They are also farting a lot, but poops have been fairly normal, some of hers look almost undigested though and low urates (spelling?), not much of the white stuff.
She is also very thirsty, and seems to regurgitate some water and feed when using her beak/neck to push herself upright.

They have been on a medicated feed with bacitracin, I can look at the tag tomorrow if needed; do I need to give them the tetracycline antibiotics?

The other six birds seem to be relatively unaffected, slight reduction in food intake, however, I gave them extra access to the run for foraging to distract them the last few days.

As of this evening, Elvira is locked into the coop with food and water. It is elevated, and it keeps raining so I don't want her crawling around in the mud or drowning. The rest of the girls will have to make use of the cubbies for egg laying.

 

[MandS]

How is she today?

I don't know which country you're in but judging by the weather you describe and when you post, you could be UK. If so, try getting some Poultry Power drops. You can get it on Amazon and it's very good stuff. If she's not getting enough to eat, it gives energy and vitamins. It's saved some of my girls in the past when I've thought they were a goner.

You need to get it in her, which usually is down the throat. If that's not something you like doing because of the risk of aspirating, then get a small amount of mash, maybe a tablespoon, and mix it up and add the drops. That's how I tend to do it now if they will eat because it is less stressful for them. If they don't eat, then I will syringe it down the throat.

Again, good luck.

 

[Eggcessive]

The OP is in Ohio, according to their avatar. Fowl pox would not really be a possibility this time of year. It is a disease common in late summer and fall, unless you live in the Deep South or tropics. Pecking scabs can resemble pox. Can you post pictures.

 

[MandS]

Yes, if I'd have looked at the bio, I would have seen! Doh!

 

[MrsEarthern]

I'm in SW Ohio, I work nights so I'm up late. I've never heard that fowl pox is a summer-fall only disease, and with our lack of real winters, I've read it's more likely to become common. And we've already had mosquitoes out.
https://poultry.extension.org/articles/poultry-health/common-poultry-diseases/fowl-pox-in-poultry/

Checking them out again in the daylight, maybe they don't all have it, but several have small black and yellow-white spots all over their combs. Elvira's comb I wiped with cottonballs soaked in warm Iodine water because I thought it was a scab/dried blood, but hardly anything came off on the cottonball.

I took some photos, sorry they aren't the best. It is warm and rainy, and my camera lens fogged inside.
Link to pics on my FB for their zooming option:

https://www.facebook.com/meganem/posts/pfbid02WvaQe9eZ9FQV9M8uA8YYm9nFKupk7UQ1d2EPEvDYxNWQSMKuCzkcRft5i3nZizJol

 

[MrsEarthern]

Update #3: We're on Day 6 post-rescue, and Elvira seems to be stronger every day. The bad news is that either the roo, Nightshade, or the other ladies forced their way into the coop this morning and stole some food, and pecked a scab off. The good news is that Elvira climbed into a nesting box and laid a small egg! She is still using her wings to balance/push herself upright when she first stands up, but she's not using her beak/neck to push herself up anymore and is standing for several minutes at a time.
I will try to get some more photos, but she and several of the other hens have crusty combs and wattles, dry and flaky looking, if that makes sense. Dry skin? They have access to clean water, water with electrolytes/probiotics.

 

[Eggcessive]

That still does not look like fowl pox, but more likely peck wounds or injuries on wire fencing. I live in the Ohio Valley and may have seen exactly 1 fowl pox scab in 12 years. We just don’t get that here, although we have mosquitoes in summer. Peck wounds and injuries can go from black to brown to yellow and white as they heal. Hopefully, she will continue to get a little stronger and move around better each day. Let us know how she does.

 

[MrsEarthern]

That still does not look like fowl pox, but more likely peck wounds or injuries on wire fencing. I live in the Ohio Valley and may have seen exactly 1 fowl pox scab in 12 years. We just don’t get that here, although we have mosquitoes in summer. Peck wounds and injuries can go from black to brown to yellow and white as they heal. Hopefully, she will continue to get a little stronger and move around better each day. Let us know how she does.

Thank you, the consult at the Feed & Seed thinks she has Coccidiosis. I am going to pursue treatment with Corrid.

You are lucky, my neighbor lost a few to wet pox last year, necropsy confirmed; another lost her whole young flock a few years ago. I'm located adjacent to a state park and nature preserve, so lots of wild birds, geese, etc. I guess I'm just on alert, there are a lot of livestock and poultry in my area and stuff goes around. One of the hatcheries that used to supply chicks to the F&S got shut down due to one positive Bird Flu.

 

[MrsEarthern]

That still does not look like fowl pox, but more likely peck wounds or injuries on wire fencing. I live in the Ohio Valley and may have seen exactly 1 fowl pox scab in 12 years. We just don’t get that here, although we have mosquitoes in summer. Peck wounds and injuries can go from black to brown to yellow and white as they heal. Hopefully, she will continue to get a little stronger and move around better each day. Let us know how she does.

I have hit a snag, I want to treat with Corrid since cocci is suspected, but no one out here knows if I can give Corrid with the Bacitracin medicated feed they are currently on.