Hen lying on side, flexing legs (intestinal blockage?)

[yellowbttrflies]

We have a Rhode Island Red hen that is almost a year old and took a sudden turn 3 days ago. She lost weight recently, but nothing too drastic. All of the chickens were solely in the coop/run for a few weeks while we replanted grass seed and were giving it a chance to grow a bit. Other than being a little lighter, she had no other symptoms prior to Sunday. On Sunday morning we found her lying on her side in the coop looking like she had died. We thought she might be egg bound based on how she responded when her belly was touched. We gave her an epsom salt bath. We were then able to massage out a few giant clumps of hay-filled poop and an egg. (There is hay in their run.) Over the past 3 days we have given her olive oil and more epsom salt baths. She is still just lying on her side, flexing her leg, as though she is trying to force something out of her body. It seems like she may have some sort of intestinal blockage. Today she had a big diarrhea blow out, but her status hasn't changed after that. She has been like this for 3 days now, so she still has a will to survive. But without eating, we're concerned about how long she can do so. We've been giving her syringes of nutri-drench and that's been the only thing she has drank (or eaten), other than the olive oil. Her comb is still mostly red. She is vaccinated for Marek's. We have 5 other chickens (we've separated them) and they all seem fine, other than being a little underweight. I have searched extensively online, but can't find anything that matches her symptoms. Has anyone experienced this in their flock or have any advice on how else to possibly treat her?

EDIT: I added some photos. Note that the one on the lawn was immediately after she came out of the epsom salt bath, so she is very wet. As you can see in the bath photos, she alternates between pushing with her right and left legs. The leg that is not being used to push tremors/shakes, while the pushing leg remains still, flexed against whatever surface/ground she can find.

 

[KaseySnow]

Can you post pictures or video of the behavior?

 

[yellowbttrflies]

Can you post pictures or video of the behavior?

I only have 1 photo right now; it’s while she’s in the epsom salt bath. You can see how she’s flexing her left leg, pushing it against the side of the tub. I’ll take some more pics in the morning.

 

[KaseySnow]

Poor thing looks like she's in a lot of pain. Is there an avian vet you can take her to anywhere nearby? Or at least one you could call to get an opinion from?

 

[yellowbttrflies]

Poor thing looks like she's in a lot of pain. Is there an avian vet you can take her to anywhere nearby? Or at least one you could call to get an opinion from?

Unfortunately we haven’t been able to find an avian vet that has a working knowledge of chickens. I was hoping that perhaps the experience of chicken owners in this forum would give some insights into possible solutions.

 

[KaseySnow]

I don't really have enough experience with a variety of chicken illnesses to suggest anything other than what you are already doing. Maybe @azygous , @LaFleche , or @Wyorp Rock have seen this before?

 

[KaseySnow]

When was the last time she was de-wormed? Perhaps it's a large internal parasite. Or maybe it's an ulcer? No idea if chickens get ulcers, I'm honestly stumped.

 

[azygous]

Paralysis can be caused by any number of things. Moldy food, moldy compost, poisonous insects, avian disease. Marek's isn't the only one out there that can do this to a chicken. Only a necropsy on a dead chicken can identify such a virus.

Shock and starvation also can produce these symptoms. It's always wise to begin with that by giving the chicken some warm sugar water with a pinch of salt and baking soda to elevate glucose and restore electrolytes. Mix a teaspoon of sugar into a cup of warm water with the salt and baking soda and try to get her to drink it.

Offer her boiled egg if she won't eat. Try vitamin E and B-complex in case of a vitamin deficiency which may be contributing to her symptoms.

 

[yellowbttrflies]

I only have 1 photo right now; it’s while she’s in the epsom salt bath. You can see how she’s flexing her left leg, pushing it against the side of the tub. I’ll take some more pics in the morning.

Can you post pictures or video of the behavior?

I added some photos to the original post, and am sharing them here too. Note that the one on the lawn was immediately after she came out of the epsom salt bath, so she is very wet. As you can see in the bath photos, she alternates between pushing with her right and left legs. The leg that is not being used to push tremors/shakes, while the pushing leg remains still, flexed against whatever surface/ground she can find.

 

[yellowbttrflies]

When was the last time she was de-wormed? Perhaps it's a large internal parasite. Or maybe it's an ulcer? No idea if chickens get ulcers, I'm honestly stumped.

Thank you for all of your feedback. We had the same thought regarding worms, so we gave all of the chickens dewormer medicine starting on Sunday, so they've had 3 doses now. We haven't noticed any worms in any of the poop. She did eat some fig beetle grubs about 2 weeks ago. I would think that if they were to have had an impact, it would have been more immediate.