Hen can't stand up today!

[jhmoore]

Thank you LilChick! It's nice to hear others that have gone through a similar situation, and made it out ok! I have no problem babying her as long as she needs it (I just had one hen in the house for almost a month recovering from being picked on, and I sort of miss having her inside). I am a firm believer in the fact that animals don't ask us to own them, we choose to. So, I feel we owe them the best quality of life we can provide. I'll take your suggestion and be sure to work with her legs daily, and just keep spoiling her. Thanks again for the kind words.

 

[henmommy]

Keep at it. It took mine about 2 weeks to recoup. Try excerizing her leg by moving them back and forth to keep the muscles strong.

 

[coolchickens]

jhmoore keep working on it, she still has a chance. Mine is standing and walking a little on her bad leg today but then sits for periods of time. I can tell it's sore but she is using it now. I really recommend exercising her legs (gently & carefully) a couple times a day. I placed the palm of my hand over the upper thigh bef. rotating so I could feel if it was slipping in/out of joint and to stabilize it then gently moved it forward & backward. Balanced her with my other hand underneath her bottom holding the breast bone so the crop was not pushed on. Also put hay around her in the box to support her more upright so she won't lay on her face. Hope yours gets better but it may take some time if its both legs bothering her. I watched "Big Daddy" when he was mating last wk and he actually stands on their legs and "treads" back and forth which places all his wgt on their legs. I'm keeping my injured girl away for at least 2 wks and locking the two roos. up when I finally let her out to range for a month or so. Don't need any more babies right now anyway!

 

[sammi]

jhmoore...

how old is the hen?
is she laying?
when was the last time she laid?

please describe the droppings..color and consistency.
has she been wormed? if so when? and what was used?
(sometimes worms can make them "lose their legs")

do check the bottom of the foot of the weak leg..
look for any sore or scab, or even a splinter or something that could be sticking her..including between the toes and check the toenails..make sure all are intact.

fell the leg/hip/back area for any heat or swelling..check well for any injury..she might have hurt herself jumping from the roost or something.

while you're at it..wouldn't hurt to check the crop and make sure it's emptying properly.

sometimes chickens can get rickets..
do try and make up this mixture..continue to give her the regular layer feed also.
you will need vitamins..if you don't have poultry vitamins and can't get them..you can substitute Poly-vi-sol liquid baby vitamins, Enfamil brand if possible..no iron...give 2 drops once a day on beak..then taper to 1 for another week..
in the meantime, get some poultry vitamins.

here's the mix:

This amount feeds one bird

Feed the bird 3 times a day for 5 days this mixture

This mixture is what you will need for the three feeds for 1 day.

1 egg yolk…
1 teaspoon honey…
2 tablespoons plain yogurt…
3 to 4 tablespoons rolled oats or water cooked oatmeal
TEENY sprinkle of multi vitamin powder (only if you are not already giving it to them in their drinking water, or in some other way..don’t overdose)
regular layer feed as needed so it isn't soupy.

Mix to make a crumble mixture not runny, if you have to roll into pellets and force feed, and then massage the neck to get it down.

hopefully she is somewhere safe and warm with soft bedding.. in a confined area with feed and water close by so she can rest the legs.

 

[jhmoore]

Hi Sammi:

Thanks for all the great info. Barbie is a 21 week old BR, and has not begun laying yet. Her droppings look normal, same color & consistency as always. I did check the bottoms of both feet, just in case of bumble fot or something similar- all is well there. I feel no heat or swelling in either leg. Barbie has not been wormed, but is still on medicated feed (I was told not to switch them until they started laying) and I use DE in their feed, shavings (pine) and dust bath. She was vaccinated for Marek's when I ordered from MPC.

I will mix up your "recipe" and see how that goes. She is in my basement in a dog crate. The crate is bedded with straw and she has water and her regular feed near her. I'll continue to feed her hih protein, high moisture food several times a day. She loves scrambled eggs and beef flavored baby food.

Thanks to all of you for your support, encouragement and advice- I'll keep you posted.

 

[ml]

Sammi thank you for that responce excellent recipe.

Roos, drakes and toms can injure a hen. Also never gave rickets a thought till now. If it is a injury better chance to have them recover if seperated and giving a nice safe space to recover.

ML

 

[jhmoore]

Well, my hen is still eating and drinking very well. She has attempted to stand up a bit, and is moving herself around the crate much more today. And to my surprise tonight- she laid her first egg!!!! This is her frst egg ever, and my first egg from this batch of chicks- how exciting! I thought for sure with her being hurt that layig would be delayed! I'm so proud of her- a perfect little brown egg.

Please continue to keep your fingers crossed for her! Thank you.

 

[lilchick]

Hey jhmoore..
Glad to hear she is doing better!
Sounds like you are doing all the right things for her.

And she laid an egg..whoot must mean she's getting back to good health

Please keep us posted..lilchick

 

[allaboutdemchicks]

With this thread....you gave me hope when I found myself in the same identical situation. My hen, a BO, is about the same age- at point of lay, and she had the identical symptoms. Bright eyes, no respiratory issues, normal poo, just not able to balance or stand.

I purchased powdered vitamins (best I could find) to give her and added a crushed Tums..(just incase she needed additional calcium) to her water. I wormed her, just to rule it out. I carefully forced this liquid down her without letting it get into her lungs. Oh, I also changed her died to a higher (24%) protein with added vitamins. I also spent the last two days with P.Therapy!! She went from not being able to even sit up straight....to today, she is standing!!!! This has been in a time period of about a week. She's not out of the woods yet, but I'm very optimistic.

Thank you all. I would have culled her without everyone's encouraging words of wisdom.

Claudia

 

[newclucker]

I had the same thing happened about 1 week ago to a hen of mine! She is laying already, about 1 year old and we have no rooster. I went out in the morning to find her in the coop not able to stand.
My 5 other hens were all fine. It happened overnight as she was fine when she went in the coop the night before. I put her in a separate small pen 2x3 feet and she is very happy to eat and drink and poops fine too. After a few days she could stand up, but would limp when walking. She mostly wants to rest. Now after 1 week in the pen, she walks fairly well with a slight limp, but lays down often to rest. I've given her extra calcium, protein and vitamins. I think it will be at least another week for her to recover fully.
Both of her legs seem to work fine, I think it may be at her hip area....but I'm not sure. She is improving a little each day. We have moved the perch
lower in the main coop...it's only about 12" off the ground now. I had thought she might have been knocked off during the night and landed badly. I hope your other chickens (and mine too) all have a full recovery.