Hen ran out of the Coop and collapsed in front of me

[TopsyT]

Hi everyone,

Please could you help me with my hen. I have a SLW (Mrs Sweetpea) who is 7-8 months old and was raised as a chick by one of my broody hens.

Today, I opened the door to let my hens out to free range, they all did the chicken run except Mrs Sweetpea who managed a few steps and collapsed on the ground in front of me. She can move around on her tummy but cannot stand properly, and one wing appears to just hang.

I have checked her over-no mites/lice, no scratches/bumps or lumps anywhere, her butt has some white poop stuck on her feathers, but there is not much. Her abdomen appears soft, and her crop is empty.

She is now resting indoors in my dogcrate and she has made some attempt to eat a little hard boiled egg. She has taken a few drops of water from my finger. Her normal feed is layer feed, with a little scratch and free access to oyster shells. She will also eat household scraps such as tomatoes, strawberries and spaghetti. However, I have not fed my hens any scraps for the last few days.

Does anyone have any idea what is wrong with my beautiful hen? She is so sweet and this is breaking my heart as I feel so helpless as I don't know what to do.

Many thanks to you all,

Topsy

 

[HenHaven]

I'm not knowledgable enough to tell you what the problem is, but I can offer a little advice for the time being. I would plan on keeping her inside until you determine the problem. There is a post in this section by KellyFG, that is roughly 10 posts down that has a lot of advice that may help your pullet.

If you have Avia Charge and/or Poly-vi-Sol that will be a start. Good luck with her. Keep us posted.

 

[TopsyT]

Thanks for your suggestion, I will certainly check it out.

I was just feeding Mrs Sweetpea water from a teaspoon so she has made a little progress. She was drinking the water from the spoon herself so I will keep repeating this to keep her hydrated. I have mixed the water with some soluble B vitamins including B12, but I have some Vi-tal in my chicken cupboard and I will switch to using that next time.

Thank you for your help,

Topsy

 

[LoneCowboy]

Sorry, I can't help you, but I'll bump this up so maybe somebody who knows something can. Good luck

 

[Alleyoops25]

How many chickens do you keep in the cop she was in? It may be very possible she got trampled inside of the coop. Especially in cold temperaures when they all want to huddle together. Can you take and run your hand down the injured wing? And when doinf this can you feel any where there is a break. Can you post some pics?
And for now you do need to get her inside and get a medicine sryinge and put somje electro lytes into her. I usually have gator aid or pedialyte on hand for these types of problems. Injured chickens almost go into shock. They a lot of times will stop eating and drinking. Also put a 1/4 of a asprin down her which will help calm her and relieve some of the pain. I will make sure to be on and off of here so keep me updated. I have became fairly god with doctoring chickens over the last several years. You can also PM me, or email me at [email protected].

 

[TopsyT]

Thank you for your kind and quick responses. I have just checked Mrs Sweetpea along her wings and legs and there is no swelling, bruising, tenderness or breaks. Her feet grip my fingers ad she has managed to take 2-3 steps before sinking back down on her abdomen.

I keep 10 hens in my coop which is a palace. It originally housed 30 hens, there are 2 roosting bars and 8 nesting boxes. The nights have been mild this week, but tonight the temperatures are due to drop. There is power to the coop and if the temperature is predicted to drop into the upper 30s or below, I can supply heat. I also have a fan for the summer when it gets in the 90s-100s.

Mrs Sweetpea is housed in my dog crate in the kitchen as it is the warmest room in the house (70F), and she has been there since lunchtime when I opened the door to the coop.

I had a great surprise when I went to check her as she had laid an egg! She took 2-3 steps towards her water and sank back down, but she is drinking freely. I have changed her water and added electrolytes. Could she have been eggbound? I have never seen this behaviour before. She is still not well and weak, and her legs don't seem to want to support her. I am scared that it could be Mareks.

I really appreciate everyone's concern and kindness with their time and suggestions. Thanks!

 

[Dodgegal79]

Yes it sound like she was egg bound. i hope she makes a full recovery.!!!

 

[SpottedCrow]

Sometimes if your girl's having a hard time getting an egg out, it can press on the nerves in their legs, so that they can't walk. Sort of like when we have sciatica.