I really don’t think I have the heart to willingly put a this hen down but I am at a loss... I want to figure out if there is anything whatsoever I can do otherwise.
I noticed the she wasn’t using her left leg at all and was holding it out in front of her almost two weeks ago. The other chickens had bloodied up a place on the pack of her head.
I segregated her into a pin with food and water so she could get to both easily, would rest and hopefully heal, but there has been no signs of improvement. She’s still eating and drinking though.
There are no visible signs of injury or abnormalities throughout the entire legth. The joints are equal to the other side so no signs of swelling. I can’t illicit any kind of motor response from the injured leg, she just won’t move it. It’s still getting circulation though. I’ve flexed it in all normal directions and I don’t get any sort of pain or discomfort response from her. I can get her to withdraw if I pinch her toe in her good leg, but shows no sign of feeling it if I pinch the other. The toes stay slightly curled at all times.
I’m I paramedic so I know how to check for issues with people. I would almost think there is some sort of neurological/nerve damage, but I’m not sure since It’s hard to get feedback from a bird on what they are experiencing..
I don’t think chickens have strokes, but if it was a person, that’s what I would think... I kind of wondering if the pecking to the back of her head and neck came first and there was some sort of spinal cord damage. I think that’s slim though because normally there would be more wide spread issues and it would be unlikely that deficits would be focused to one hemisphere of the body.
I noticed the she wasn’t using her left leg at all and was holding it out in front of her almost two weeks ago. The other chickens had bloodied up a place on the pack of her head.
I segregated her into a pin with food and water so she could get to both easily, would rest and hopefully heal, but there has been no signs of improvement. She’s still eating and drinking though.
There are no visible signs of injury or abnormalities throughout the entire legth. The joints are equal to the other side so no signs of swelling. I can’t illicit any kind of motor response from the injured leg, she just won’t move it. It’s still getting circulation though. I’ve flexed it in all normal directions and I don’t get any sort of pain or discomfort response from her. I can get her to withdraw if I pinch her toe in her good leg, but shows no sign of feeling it if I pinch the other. The toes stay slightly curled at all times.
I’m I paramedic so I know how to check for issues with people. I would almost think there is some sort of neurological/nerve damage, but I’m not sure since It’s hard to get feedback from a bird on what they are experiencing..
I don’t think chickens have strokes, but if it was a person, that’s what I would think... I kind of wondering if the pecking to the back of her head and neck came first and there was some sort of spinal cord damage. I think that’s slim though because normally there would be more wide spread issues and it would be unlikely that deficits would be focused to one hemisphere of the body.
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