Hen not walking after illness

[chickenrunUKTerri]

About two weeks ago, one of my rescue girls (nearly 3 yrs old) started showing signs of lethargy. She did not have sour crop nor was she eggbound so didn't really know what the problem was.

Couple of days later, I looked her over for lice/mites but couldn't see anything. She was eating, but not as much as the other three and not really moving around much.

This past Sunday, I found a tick on her face. (Note: I'm in the UK; ticks look different from what they are in the US) It looked like a large poppy seed. I managed to remove it and checked her over again and found lice on her. I isolated her from the other girls.

Our local farmer's shop didn't carry Ivermectin, so had to look online. Unfortunately, delivery wouldn't be until tomorrow (Thursday) and knew she couldn't wait that long.

Managed to get some from the chicken vet on Monday afternoon and administered it on her. Yesterday she seemed perkier and was eating a bit more, but she wasn't really walking around much. I checked her and found only dead lice, yay!

Today she looks worse than yesterday and she just wants to lay down or not move. When I pick her up she stumbles when I try to get her to stand. I'm assuming her legs are weak from not moving around much. She just stands still with her eyes closed and her tail down. If I put her in front of her food, she'll peck at it a bit. I've given her bugs and she will eat them.

I don't know what else to do for her. I've given her energy drops but not in the past two days.

Can anyone give me some advice on what I can do to help her? ☹

Thank you.

 

[lbgreenfield]

Hi. I'm so sorry to hear about your poor girl! Are you able to give her some additional nutrition/fluids? When one of my hens is sick, I like to mix Nutri-Drench/Rooster-Booster in with some cooked oatmeal or scrambled eggs, and they seem to enjoy eating that. You could also try yogurt mixed with some of her feed or canned tuna/wet cat or dog food.

Lice/Parasites/Mites tend to (literally) sometimes suck the life out of a chicken, so I would also recommend to remove all the bedding from the coop and thoroughly treat the coop/roosts/every nook and cranny with Permethrin-10 or something similar (not sure what you have available in the UK, but here is what I buy in the US: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/gordons-permethrin-10-livestock-and-premise-spray-32-oz

I'd also check your other flock members for lice/mites/parasites and treat accordingly as well.

Keep us posted on how she does!

 

[Eggcessive]

Ticks can cause diseases and a transient paralysis in chickens. Try to find a good insecticide safe for chickens to treat your coop. Permethrin, pyrethrins, or a product containing spinosad would be helpful. Here is a bit about ticks:
https://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/as..._Diseases_-_Tick_Fever_and_Tick_Paralysis.doc

You can make a chicken sling to help get her up, keep her cleaner, and close to food and water while she recovers. There could be another cause for her lameness, such as an internal infection or cancer causing pressure on her leg nerves, or Mareks disease. Here are some examples of slings:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

 

[chickenrunUKTerri]

Hi. I'm so sorry to hear about your poor girl! Are you able to give her some additional nutrition/fluids? When one of my hens is sick, I like to mix Nutri-Drench/Rooster-Booster in with some cooked oatmeal or scrambled eggs, and they seem to enjoy eating that. You could also try yogurt mixed with some of her feed or canned tuna/wet cat or dog food.

Lice/Parasites/Mites tend to (literally) sometimes suck the life out of a chicken, so I would also recommend to remove all the bedding from the coop and thoroughly treat the coop/roosts/every nook and cranny with Permethrin-10 or something similar (not sure what you have available in the UK, but here is what I buy in the US: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/gordons-permethrin-10-livestock-and-premise-spray-32-oz

I'd also check your other flock members for lice/mites/parasites and treat accordingly as well.

Keep us posted on how she does!

She seems a bit better today. I still have her isolated. She's been eating a bit more and last night she even ate some sardines.
I have given her some Nutri drops to help perk her up a bit and her poo has been a bit more solid. The past two mornings I have taken her outside to give her some physiotherapy and helping her walk a bit.

None of the other three girls seem to be affected and I had just done the weekly deep clean on Saturday. I sprinkle DE powder in the nesting boxes and in all books and crannies in the coop.

I guess it might just take a few days for her to bounce back. Thanks for your suggestions!

 

[lbgreenfield]

She seems a bit better today. I still have her isolated. She's been eating a bit more and last night she even ate some sardines.
I have given her some Nutri drops to help perk her up a bit and her poo has been a bit more solid. The past two mornings I have taken her outside to give her some physiotherapy and helping her walk a bit.

None of the other three girls seem to be affected and I had just done the weekly deep clean on Saturday. I sprinkle DE powder in the nesting boxes and in all books and crannies in the coop.

I guess it might just take a few days for her to bounce back. Thanks for your suggestions!

That’s great news! Chickens are very resilient, so I’m glad she’s doing better. You sound like your taking good care of her! Keep us posted!

 

[chickenrunUKTerri]

That’s great news! Chickens are very resilient, so I’m glad she’s doing better. You sound like your taking good care of her! Keep us posted!

Ethel went downhill yesterday. She drank water but didn't want any food. Not even mealworms tempted her. Took her to the vet...she didn't come home with us.
Vet said she lost a lot of weight and she had no more muscle mass. She may have had an underlying illness which is why the lice attached on to her and not the other girls.
The kindest thing was to send her to sleep.
Fly free sweet Ethel.

 

[lbgreenfield]

Ethel went downhill yesterday. ☹ She drank water but didn't want any food. Not even mealworms tempted her. Took her to the vet...she didn't come home with us.
Vet said she lost a lot of weight and she had no more muscle mass. She may have had an underlying illness which is why the lice attached on to her and not the other girls.
The kindest thing was to send her to sleep.
Fly free sweet Ethel.

I am so very sorry to hear that I just lost one of my beloved hens a few weeks ago, I understand your sadness. Know that you gave Ethel the best care you could have and that she is no longer in pain. So sorry again for your loss.