hen having seizures

[jimgunn]

Yesterday I noticed that one of our hens was just generally not looking very well. She was very slow moving around the pen. I left her, hoping it was just a cold and went back to see her later. Her left wing had drooped, as though she had no idea it was there, when I tried lifting it, it would just flop back down. Now I was starting to get worried. I decided to leave her the night and see how she was in the morning. She was on her roost when I went to put her away and seemed to be getting better.

At around 9 that evening my next door neighbour was missing one of her hens so I went to check that it wasn't in with ours. That was when I saw the hen laying on the ground, beneath her perch on her side and breathing heavily. I picked her up and took her in side, her head was hanging down. When I had got her inside I sat down with her to try and see what was the matter. That was when I felt her have her first seizure. Her entire body tensed up and her neck was bent and rolling around. This happened many times so I put her in a box and was about to take her to the vets when she really started to suffer. She was writhing around in the box, her neck rolling around and her legs pushing against the side of the box. She then started so call out loud. The entire box was bashing around with her inside it to I rushed out to the car when it all stopped. I looked into the box and she had died.

It was horrible and she was obviously in pain. If any one knows what this may have been then that would be extremely helpful so that we know if the rest of our flock is at risk and if so, how we can stop it.

Many thanks

 

[leadwolf1]

So sorry for your loss

Research botulism, that is the only thing that I can think of. If you truly want to know the answer have a necropsy performed. Your local government extension office can point you in the right direction. State labs will do them for little to no cost while private vets charge big bucks. Wrap her is a plastic bag and put her in the fridge. She will keep in there for up to 3 days until you can get the necropsy performed.

 

[jimgunn]

thank you for the suggestion. Says it can be caught from mold so wondering whether any bread they may have eaten has gone moldy. All food is no be replaced and we will make extra sure that nothing gets damp or is left in the run for too long.

thanks again

 

[leadwolf1]

You are welcome