Hen sitting weird, ~2 months after attack

[jrleek]

Around November 1st I heard a noise in the coop at 2am, and found a raccoon in there. I chased it off, but one chicken was hurt. He tore her comb off, as well as some feathers. She was pretty beat up, but nothing seemed seriously wrong. I separated her briefly, but she didn't seem to like that, and the other hens weren't bothering her, so I put her back.
She spent about a week with one eye closed and generally resting. She would walk over to the feed and water, then sit there all day, then head back to the coop at night.

After about a weeks she seemed better, and was happily running around with the other chickens.

Recently she seems to have taken a turn for the worse. Since the days are so short now, I go to work before the sun comes up, and come home after it's down. So I didn't see them out and about. But today I found her not active at all. She's lethargic, wasn't eating, and was walking very oddly. If she had to move, she moved with a pigeon toed waddle.

I thought she might be egg bound, but when I picked her up she was obviously very skinny. I noticed her beak was over grown, so I cut that down. Then I cleaned up some poop around her vent. But she still wasn't eating, so I separated her and force fed her some mash and electrolyte water.

She's sitting in a very odd position though. Maybe something else is wrong?

Weirdly sitting, she rolls over to one side.

After some force feeding, she looks to the sky

 

[PirateGirl]

I have not personally dealt with it, but wry neck comes to mind. Perhaps do a web search and see if the symptoms match up...

 

[aart]

Did you tube feed her?
How old is she?
Appears that it could be something neurological.

 

[jrleek]

It does look a bit like wry neck, maybe just because she wasn't eating? I think she's just darn near starved to death at this point. I thought she was eating, but after picking her up it doesn't seem so.

She's about 10 months old I guess.

I force fed her via these instructions.

TLDR; I opened her beak with my left hand and popped in balls of food with the right, or dripped in water from a dropper. She actually seemed to like being fed that way fine. She wasn't big on get water poured in her mouth.

 

[aart]

Be careful with the syringe...here's more info on applying liquids without aspiration:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

 

[Eggcessive]

I am not an expert on neurological problems, but I would wonder if she may possibly have Mareks disease, with the odd way of lying and the wry neck (torticolis.) I really hope not. Wry neck is just a neurological symptom, and can be seen with head injuries, vitamin E or B2 (thiamine) deficiency, or in certain diseases that affect the central nervous system. Mareks, fowl cholera, Newcastles disease, avian influenza, and severe respiratory diseases are some of those diseases. Mareks is caused by a virus, and can cause a list of different symptoms such as weakness of one or both legs, wings, twisted neck, loss of balance, changes in an eye, and tumors anywhere in the body.

I would make some chicken feed with water to a runny consistency, and hold it up to her beak in a small dish. Try giving her some vitamins, such as Poultry Cell or NutriDrench up to 3 ml daily. Cooked egg and tuna are food as well for treats. Make sure that she can reach her food and water. Here is a good article on Mareks disease to read:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

 

[Eggcessive]

Chicken slings or chairs with a food and water container attached may be useful with chickens who are lame. They may be made from fabric with holes cut for both legs and a poop hole, and attached to a rubbermaid tub, a box, or hung inside a dog crate. It may be more difficult to use with a twisted neck though, but here are some examples if you would like to make one:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

 

[getaclue]

I'd get some vitamins into her. Obviously she's not getting the nutrition she needs from eating, so she would benefit from them.

 

[jrleek]

She doesn't seem to be doing the wry neck thing anymore today.

She was able to eat by herself today, but her aim is terrible. She hits about an inch about anything she's trying to eat. If she's by herself, she can keep at it until she gets the food, but with the other hens she hasn't got much chance of that.

One of her eyes was injured in the raccoon attack. Maybe it's causing this?

She still shows a lot of weakness in her legs, the left in particular. I guess that means it could be Mareks as well. Although they all should've been vaccinated against it. Wild birds do come around to steal chicken feed. (Mostly sparrows)

 

[getaclue]

They eye may be causing the bad aim, but it proves her head was injured, so that could be causing a lot of the problems. Just keep her isolated, with food, and water, even if you have to help her eat, and drink a bit, because of her aim being off. Time will tell as to how much of this she can overcome, if she can overcome it.