hen on back but still kicking

[Oven Ready]

There are two very good reasons for giving cooked egg over raw.
1. Cooked egg will not contain any bacteria, raw eggs can easily carry salmonella, protozoan cysts, worms and whole heap of other nasty things that cooking kills.
2. Cooked food (of any sort) is normally easier to digest for chickens and for us too. In the case of eggs this an extract from the following paper. Digestibility of Cooked and Raw Egg Protein In Humans. I know the paper is based on human digestion but the Ileum is common to most vertebrates and is where proteins and carbs are properly digested.

The true ileal digestibility of cooked and raw egg protein amounted to 90.9 ± 0.8 and 51.3 ± 9.8%, respectively.

As to the honey, just a few drops of liquid stuff in crumbles, in the egg, on moist bread it doesn't matter - I wouldn't drop it straight into her mouth as she might spray it everywhere.
If it's solid honey the tip of butter knife is fine, again perhaps on bread or dip the crumbles into it. It's only to give them that little bit more sugar if they are malnourished. Refined sugar works OK too although it's possibly not so healthy.

It's possible that if she's not been well, even with a minor issue, the other chickens have been keeping her away from the food - they're mean like that.
If she is eating and taking water then that is a good sign, even if she has another complication she'll need her strength to fight it off. Make sure she is eating enough to get her crop bulging, especially before she goes to sleep for the night.

Do try to control the drunken flapping/flipping thing by keeping her confined. Let her out when you cn supervise and be ready to grab her and straighten her out before she damages herself. If you can keep feeding for three or four days I think she'll start to 'sober' up. We've had a few do this and simply force feeding them for a few days brings them round again.

Best of luck to you both​

 

[burquechick]

You can also transmit viruses, such as, but not limited to:

Newcastle disease
Infectious bronchitis
Avian influenza (although very low level)
Mycoplasma species

These viruses have all been implicated in transmission through egg. Furthermore, all viruses are killed by cooking. It is important to note that most of these viruses are not infectious to humans, therefore, it may even be safer for you or your dog to eat raw eggs than for your chickens to eat raw eggs. And your chicken could, very well, be exhibiting signs of one of these illnesses.

 

[heatherindeskies]

how is your hen now?

 

[mamabanty]

Put her in the little box (a lettuce container with hay on bottom). Head heald high, eating raw egg on her own (was not interested in cooked egg), chicken feed on her own, water on her own, she took some VetRx with a fight (had to really force her mouth open), I put some around her head and under her left wing, the one that is not flapping, the side that seems paralysis, except that leg has some movement. Considered putting her down a few times today after posts about doing the humane thing, but did not, b/c she keeps that head held high (in the box, now that she is not falling on her back) and has a really good appetite. No other chickens are ill, but I still changed hay in coop. Water has all been very well cleaned past few weeks. noticing a lot of rough activity among peeps, not sure if we may have a few baby roosters in the flock, perhaps things were getting a little rowdy? First crows from March born rooster this AM, I am thinking he might have injured her? He is a product of a barred rock Mama and cochin bantam rooster, so he is pretty big.

doesn't a diseased egg need to come from a sick bird? not that I am saying there is no threat of disease in my flock. I am indeed very worried with this sick bird- but she does not seem that sickly, more like paralyzed.

so far the only birds I have lost this year were from predators - decapitated birds, we think either weasels or owls?

I love all the feedback, thank you!

 

[Oven Ready]

If you can keep her eating and drinking until she gets to a more normal state, then you will have more options available to you.

It's quite possible that the rooster has damaged her nervous system, they can and do peck and hold on very hard to the neck, inexperienced youngsters are the worst for rough action. But chickens are a bit like flipping coins, if things go well they usually go very well and normality is resumed, when things go bad they go very bad and all your efforts don't work.

I know it's difficult to tell with a chicken but do her eyes look focused? When she goes to eat does she hit the target everytime or most of time? Does she tend to favor one eye when lining up her food, by cocking her head to the side?

Many diseases of chickens (and people) can be 'carried' without the carrier showing any symptoms (i.e. they have the disease but are asymptomatic; a classic example of this in humans is Herpes Simplex Virus and in chickens Marek's Disease), so no the chicken does NOT need to appear sick to be carrying and spreading a disease. Reinfection by feeding infected food or contact with another infected bird may cause the disease to produce typical symptoms if the viral/bacterial load becomes too large for the carrier to cope with.

I honestly don't think you will have a problem feeding her raw egg, but it would be preferable if you could feed her cooked egg. She is probably in a Kill or Cure situation and if the only way she will eat egg is raw then, that's better than nothing. You could try her with Tuna cat food if you have some, it's full of protein and fats and is very good for them for a short while.

I'm hoping that as she gets stronger, her balance will return and the paralysis will subside. Then you might be able to identify an underlying condition or it could indeed be trauma.

 

[Kittymomma]

I don't have clue what is going on with your sick bird, but decapitated birds are usually the work of a raccoon.