Hey there,
Sorry if this is a bit long.
We have this hen, I believe she's around three or four years old and a mixed hyline. She's always been a 'special' hen, multiple extra toes on each foot, was limping when we got her as a pullet and doesn't have the best eyesight. Her pupils are more teardrop shaped than round and I wonder if she survived a disease early on. Despite all this, she layed when she felt like it, though she hasn't layed in months, and always had a lot of personality, being quite talkative and following you around.
A bit over a week ago, she stopped perching at night, instead sleeping in the nesting boxes. Before that, she'd been needing someone to lift her off the perch in the morning, which was new. We then noticed she slept most of the day and was losing her balance.
We've brought her closer to the house to a little pen we have for broodies or sick/injured hens. She's slowly gotten worse, sleeping 90% of the day and when she is awake it's seems difficult for her to stay awake, her head's always sinking and then jerking back up as if she's trying to stay awake. When she eats, she'll peck the air half way between her and the food or your hand if your holding food/the dish the food's in. We found putting the food higher up helped her find it. When she walks she's teetering all over the place, sometimes going splat or falling backwards. The going backwards seems to especially happen when she tries to start walking. Her right eye has also been shut/squinted a lot of the time but doesn't look different. It's still slightly cloudy with a small pupil.
She still has an appetite and will occasionally make noises but she's not anywhere near as vocal as she used to be.
Her poop seems normal and she gets herself out of bed every morning. I'm not the one who set up the little pen for her but it's got either wood shavings or hemp shavings in it, we also bring her out of it everyday into the garden with seed and water and she sleeps.
So, any ideas what might be wrong? Has her already not so great eyesight just gotten worse? She feels like she could be a little lighter than she used to be but I didn't regularly pick her up so I'm not sure.
Anyways, cheers and thanks for any ideas.
Sorry if this is a bit long.
We have this hen, I believe she's around three or four years old and a mixed hyline. She's always been a 'special' hen, multiple extra toes on each foot, was limping when we got her as a pullet and doesn't have the best eyesight. Her pupils are more teardrop shaped than round and I wonder if she survived a disease early on. Despite all this, she layed when she felt like it, though she hasn't layed in months, and always had a lot of personality, being quite talkative and following you around.
A bit over a week ago, she stopped perching at night, instead sleeping in the nesting boxes. Before that, she'd been needing someone to lift her off the perch in the morning, which was new. We then noticed she slept most of the day and was losing her balance.
We've brought her closer to the house to a little pen we have for broodies or sick/injured hens. She's slowly gotten worse, sleeping 90% of the day and when she is awake it's seems difficult for her to stay awake, her head's always sinking and then jerking back up as if she's trying to stay awake. When she eats, she'll peck the air half way between her and the food or your hand if your holding food/the dish the food's in. We found putting the food higher up helped her find it. When she walks she's teetering all over the place, sometimes going splat or falling backwards. The going backwards seems to especially happen when she tries to start walking. Her right eye has also been shut/squinted a lot of the time but doesn't look different. It's still slightly cloudy with a small pupil.
She still has an appetite and will occasionally make noises but she's not anywhere near as vocal as she used to be.
Her poop seems normal and she gets herself out of bed every morning. I'm not the one who set up the little pen for her but it's got either wood shavings or hemp shavings in it, we also bring her out of it everyday into the garden with seed and water and she sleeps.
So, any ideas what might be wrong? Has her already not so great eyesight just gotten worse? She feels like she could be a little lighter than she used to be but I didn't regularly pick her up so I'm not sure.
Anyways, cheers and thanks for any ideas.
