Hen has flipped possible brain damage

hcammack

Crowing
12 Years
Oct 5, 2007
8,970
87
303
Vermont
So I have a special needs hen I got from someone of Friday she had one eye swollen shut and the previous owner said she was recovering well. The previous owner believed that it was just the eye that was injured and not the whole head but she said her head had been very bloody and swollen after the injury (we don't know what happened). The hen couldn't walk on the way home from Ohio to Maryland so I separated her with one pullet for company she was eating drinking and clucking but she can't move and her head was tilted. I used the antibiotic cream her previous owner suggested on her eye and gave her a few drops of Tylan in the water but not enough to really do much and I have never had this Tylan cause any problems when I used on another bird. This morning I went out to see her and she was completely flipped on her back and I though she was dead. She clucked when I flipped her over to see what happened but her head remained completely upside down! I feel terrible because I was supposed to deliver this hen to someone else but it really seems obvious to me she has some sort of brain damage and that she has actually has gotten worse not better. Mind you she looked the same after driving 500 miles in that same crate she was in last night. You guys have any clues what could have happened? I am pretty sure I am going to cull her but I don't want to unless you guys have an idea what happened. I think its some sort of either paralyzation, brain swelling, or some sort of chicken vertigo. I forgot to add her eye seemed to dilate very slowly or stay very large yesterday even in bright sunlight.

Here is a picture form Yesterday when she was "better"
4305_dscn0624.jpg


Henry
 
O wow How sad. Is she eating? My friend is a huge cochin breeder and she has a cochin with real bad brain damage, her head never stops moving it keeps going around in circles, but shes lived like that for over 6 months. The reason i say that is because it might be able to live with that condition. Good luck.

I would def continue with the tylan or some sort of antibiotic so it prevents infection in its eye.
 
AWWWWWWWW she is cute, poor thing. What ointment did you use, as some may cause problems in chickens. I would think her injuries just got aggervated with the travel and new enviroment. If she is suffering, then do what is best. Vitamins such as poly vi sol children liquid vitamins and vitamin E are often helpful in injuries of neck, spine and brain etc.... hope she might improve for you...
 
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I will try some vitamins. I used something called triple antibiotic ointment. I am not sure if she is suffering but now she isn not moving at all while earlier she was waddeling around and eating and drinking. Now her head it completely flipped! I agree I think the stress of travel made her injury worse even though she seemed to make it fine I guess she just got stressed out last night. She was beautiful and a very rare breed blue faverolles bantam.

Henry
 
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Ya I am going to do my best for a little but I think like this she probably cannot eat or drink while she could yesterday I will go out and take a picture of her now to show you the difference between yesterday and today.
 
This is how I found her this morning she looked very very dead and looks dead in the picture to.

4305_dscn0637.jpg
 
Vitamin E you can get at walmart in the vitamin section, get the gel caps, pierce one open and drip it into her beak. You can also get the liquid vitamins there. She looks like she has wry neck. How long has she been this way with the eye and such? Try to prop her up, I often will take some bubble wrap and make like a neck brace, then tape it in place to help hold their neck in place until they get their bearing. She may have gotten really off balance and lost balance of how to hold her neck.
 
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I found some gel caps! If there are any other types of vitamins you think would be good for her I am sure I have them my Dad is apparently into stocking up on vitamins ha ha. I made a neck brace or tried to I am going to do some serious work and make her a special little area tonight. I am not sure about how long her eye has been like that maybe a week. I am pretty sure it is wry neck!
 

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