Hen tiliting to one side; found lying on back

[clport]

Ameracauna hen, approximately 9 months old. Just started laying about one month ago. I found her this afternoon lying on her back in the hen yard, unable to right herself. Got her out of the yard and isolated her in a pen with heater for warmth and a box with hay to lay or roost. Gave her a bowl of Layena and a bowl of water with vitamin/electrolyte mixture. Also scrambled a couple of eggs for her and crushed the shell up in it, too. Initial poo was very liquidy and medium brown color; no blood in it. Subsequent poo looked normal and was better formed. Eyes are clear and she's alert. She's not making any unusua l noises, just a soft "cluck" now and then. I can feel an egg between her legs. Her vent looks normal, although there was a little of the runny poo on her feathers down there. I do not know the last time she layed. I've got 13 girls and two Ameracauna, so I'm not sure which one is doing the laying on any particular day. The strangest thing about this episode is that she is listing to her left side, as if her leg hurts. I can see no trauma on the leg or foot and it hasn't been cold enough here for frostbite. She is moving around and has figured out to go slowly so she doesn't completely fall over to the left. Any ideas? I thought I'd just leave her be for a while and see what else develops. Maybe she can lay the egg she's got and then she'll feel better. The tilting is confusing to me, though.
Thanks for the help.
carol

 

[Southernbelle]

Sounds like it might be wry neck and it's caused by a vitamin deficiency. Baby vitamins, without iron, work really well, but you may have to run a search to get the right dose.

 

[crtrlovr]

try propping her up into upright position using a rolled up bath towel for support.

if she is egg bound, some people have suggested putting the hen into a pan (or kitchen sink) of warm water to help her relax and be able to pass the egg.

with your girl

 

[Shiningfeather]

You can do a search here for wry neck, there are many posts on this issue. I have had two Silkies that I have nursed through it. You will need Poly-Visol without iron, vitamin E (full spectrum is what I used), and B-12. I gave them twice a day. I got all of them at the drug store. Run a search and read what others have posted on the subject. If she is egg bound I don't think the vitamins will hurt her and may give her some strength.

The sooner you start treatment for Wry the better. I caught mine very early and all worked out.

 

[clport]

Could it be wry neck even if her neck appears normal? Or, perhaps this a case where that particular symptom hasn't started yet? I have treated her with vit E tonight and will pick up PolyViSol tomorrow. Couldn't find in my search of BYC a post which said how much vit E to give. I get the big capsules from Costco (1200 mg) and I gave her about 1/4 of the oil in the capsule. I also made her drink some of the vitamin/electrolyte water with a dropper. When I put her back in her iso pen, she immediately headed for the water bowl and drank a lot. I've given her some plain yogurt and oatmeal. That's all I can think to do tonight. Keep your fingers crossed that she's no worse in the morning! Thanks for the help.
carol

 

[clport]

No change in my unbalanced hen this morning. She has eaten a little bit of the 16% pellets overnight, but didn't want any of the yogurt/oatmeal/scrambled egg mixture I gave her. She's also been drinking a lot of the vitamin/electrolyte water. Still unsure how much vit E to give her. Any suggestions? Going to the store to get baby vitamins and cottage cheese for her. Any other advice for me? Kinda new to the sick chicken thing. Up to now everyone has been healthy as can be!

Carol

 

[clport]

So, now it's four days after my hen went down and she's somewhat worse than before. She started breathing with her beak open yesterday and isn't eating very much now, although she appears to want to eat. She likes cottage cheese and when I put it in front of her she looks like she wants to peck at it, but then changes her mind. She has no obstruction in her mouth, no nasal discharge, does not feel as though she has a fever and is having normal poop. I am giving her vitamin/electrolyte water with a dropper into her mouth and she is also getting 3 drops of PolyViSol vitamins twice a day. I had given her vit E until Saturday, but I don't know exactly how much to give and it was starting to worry me that perhaps I was giving too much. So, I stopped that treatment for now. The worse thing for me is that now she can't stay upright by herself. Unless I prop her in a corner, she just rolls over to one side and stays there until I rescue her. Oh, and I know she's not egg bound because she laid a normal egg on Saturday. I have her in a room which is heated only with an electric heater, therefore I can control the temperature and it's warm, but not too hot (probably about 60-65 degrees). I know that if it's the mysterious condition that a lot of hens get where they loose their balance and coordination I'm just going to have to wait it out and hope she pulls through it. I'm OK with that, but the beak breathing bothers me. Any help out there?
Thanks,
carol