Hen unable to walk. Help please!

[chickieshib]

Hi, wondering if I could seek some advice please. I have an Isa Brown hen who is about 8-9 years old. I realise she is getting on a bit but she has always been a happy healthy chooken up until now. She was even still laying eggs just over a year ago. For the past week she has been unable to walk, with her legs curled up underneath her. When she does shuffle along, it's on her hocks and unable to walk on her feet or stand up without toppling over. This happened suddenly, although not sure of excact details as we were away on holidays at the time. My neighbour who was checking on her and feeding her, called to let me know. So we cut our trip a little short and came home, and found that other than her inability to stand up and walk, she looked healthy with tail and comb up, eyes looking clear and blinking normally, and not ruffled/fluffed up at all. However, she is not eating hardly at all, I try and basically force feed her pellets that I made into a mush-type mixture with water. I have also added a multi-vitamin (Avi-Vital) to her water which she seems to drink but I don't think she is really drinking a lot either. She is now quite skinny, obviously due to lack of food. I have checked her crop and it has been empty, basically for the last week. She also now has bright green droppings, which I have researched would probably be due to lack of food. Her droppings were normal up until about 4 days ago. Even though she is an old girl, I would like to try and save her. I have had chickens previously (white leg horns) that lived till they were about 13 years old!! So I think that if I could work out what is wrong with her, I could possibly give her a chance at a longer life. She has been a good chooken! She is alone in her coop now, as her friend Isa Brown (same age as her), died about 6 months ago, suddenly just fell off the roost and died! (That was a strange one too). I would attach a video of her but I can't figure out who to attach it to this post?? Any help would be so much appreciated! Thank you !!

 

[Mamatomany123]

ISA browns are production birds which usually means they have much shorter lives. I'm actually shocked you've got her to this age. My guess would be she may just be getting ready to go. Not only is she old but she's alone now which is not good for chickens. You are right that the green poop is probably y from not eating. I would just try to make her comfortable.

 

[Weeg]

@Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @azygous

I dont' have to much experience with this specific issue, but the above members will hopefully be able to help more.
I'm sorry about your hen, if it were me, the first thing I would do is start tube feeding. If she isn't eating, no matter what it is she isn't going to make it. Tube feeding sounds intimidating, but it isn't as bad as it seems once you figure it out.
This article gives good info on tube feeding- Article 'Crop Feeding'
When was the last time your lady laid an egg? How does her abdomen feel? Squishy, doughy, hard, enlarged? Can you weigh her? Photos of her poop may help, green is usually from lack of food, but it might help other members. What do the bottoms of her feet look like? Any signs of bumble foot?
I hope the other members can take some answers of these questions and help you. I also hope we can figure out what is wrong with your lady. Like mentioned above, ISA browns are high production breeds, and sadly don't live too long. Your lucky to get them past 5, I'm so so impressed that you got her to this age, your odiously a great chicken momma. I'd start with crop/tube feeding and go from there. Getting food in her is going to be most important at this point.

 

[Chicken lover1980]

there could be a few more factors in play here including the fact that she is a production hen, shes old, and shes been alone for a while. The first thing is to just mentally prepare yourself just in case she is going to pass.

i really hope this isn't the case but its best to understand/accept all the things that could happen.

since she lost weight she will need to get some extra meat on her and fast. do you know how to syringe feed? i can post a vid of how to do it. it would also be a good idea to add in some chicken supplements into her food (especially if your syringe feeding.) things like kicken chicken, poutry booster and and other supplements will do. you would need to take some layer pellets, soak then and blend it well just to make sure you can syringe it easily and mix in a supplement before giving it to her. how does her abdomen feel? is it warm, and squishy,or watery?

you also said she was alone. can she come in with you so she can be around you more often? having some "flock mates" around may boost her spirit.

 

[azygous]

There are things you can try, and by trial and error, you may be able to eliminate possible causes of her paralysis and arrive and the most likely cause.

I suggest starting off by giving her warm sugar water to drink. A teaspoon of sugar in one cup water. I am guessing you are in the southern hemisphere and it's end of summer. If she's going to survive into winter, you need to get her eating again. The sugar sometimes can boost the glucose and stimulate appetite.

The sugar may even help the paralysis. But you can try a B-complex to help restore damaged nerve connections. The complex should have B-2, 6, and 12, all important for healing nerve function.

You also need to check her crop. If she hasn't been eating, it should be flat and empty. If it's full, then she has a crop issue and something else more serious causing it.

The fact that her companion died six months ago doesn't bode well for this hen. Did that hen have paralysis, also? If so, these symptoms may indicate this hen has an avian virus.

 

[Poultrykeeper12]

She lived that long?? Amazing! You are a great chicken keeper. With the feet situation, She is a very old bird her body may be giving out. I am very shocked she lived this long.

 

[chickieshib]

ISA browns are production birds which usually means they have much shorter lives. I'm actually shocked you've got her to this age. My guess would be she may just be getting ready to go. Not only is she old but she's alone now which is not good for chickens. You are right that the green poop is probably y from not eating. I would just try to make her comfortable.

Thank you for your reply. Yes, she has been lonely since her Isa friend died, she has been constantly following us around the yard and looking in the back door for us if we're not outside. We had been away for a bit over a week when this happened, so I think yes, she was also very lonely without us at home. I do realise she is quite old and it may be just her time now, but thought if I could possibly get some ideas of what it might be. She has no sign of injuries, either legs or feet, and no sign of bumblefoot. Her legs are not totally paralysed, she does move them to shuffle around and pulls them back if I stretch them out. But, she just can't stand up. I have been keeping her comfortable and have syringed some mushed up pellets (mixed with water) but it is difficult to get some into her as well as the multi-vitamins into her water. I'll just keep trying and see how she goes. Thanks for your info

 

[chickieshib]

She lived that long?? Amazing! You are a great chicken keeper. With the feet situation, She is a very old bird her body may be giving out. I am very shocked she lived this long.

She (Sheila) has been a good old girl. I will be sad when she leaves us Just trying to give her as long a life as possible. Thanks for replying.

 

[chickieshib]

There are things you can try, and by trial and error, you may be able to eliminate possible causes of her paralysis and arrive and the most likely cause.

I suggest starting off by giving her warm sugar water to drink. A teaspoon of sugar in one cup water. I am guessing you are in the southern hemisphere and it's end of summer. If she's going to survive into winter, you need to get her eating again. The sugar sometimes can boost the glucose and stimulate appetite.

The sugar may even help the paralysis. But you can try a B-complex to help restore damaged nerve connections. The complex should have B-2, 6, and 12, all important for healing nerve function.

You also need to check her crop. If she hasn't been eating, it should be flat and empty. If it's full, then she has a crop issue and something else more serious causing it.

The fact that her companion died six months ago doesn't bode well for this hen. Did that hen have paralysis, also? If so, these symptoms may indicate this hen has an avian virus.

Hi and thanks for replying. My initial plan when I arrived home and saw her (Sheila) was giving her 1 tspn sugar, tiny amount of baking soda and tiny amount of salt in 1 litre of water, which I did for the first day but then on doing further research, thought it may be nerve damage hence the multi-vitamin I have been adding to her water. Yes, I am in Australia. I checked her crop on the first day but it was empty and hasn't been full since, as she's hardly eating. I have been syringing some mushed up pellets mixed with water but it's very difficult and she only takes a small amount. Her Isa friend (Shirley) just up and died suddenly one day, and no, there was no sign paralysis with her. Suspecting heart attack?? because she basically fell off the roost and died. I know Sheila has been lonely since Shirley died as she follows us around the backyard everywhere and comes to the back door to look for us, if we're not outside with her. I guess I'll just keep persisting with what I'm doing and hope she pulls through but as she is an old girl, this may just be her time Thought I would just try for a longer life for her. Thanks again.

 

[chickieshib]

there could be a few more factors in play here including the fact that she is a production hen, shes old, and shes been alone for a while. The first thing is to just mentally prepare yourself just in case she is going to pass.

i really hope this isn't the case but its best to understand/accept all the things that could happen.

since she lost weight she will need to get some extra meat on her and fast. do you know how to syringe feed? i can post a vid of how to do it. it would also be a good idea to add in some chicken supplements into her food (especially if your syringe feeding.) things like kicken chicken, poutry booster and and other supplements will do. you would need to take some layer pellets, soak then and blend it well just to make sure you can syringe it easily and mix in a supplement before giving it to her. how does her abdomen feel? is it warm, and squishy,or watery?

you also said she was alone. can she come in with you so she can be around you more often? having some "flock mates" around may boost her spirit.

Hi, thanks for reply. If you could post a video of how to syringe feed that would be great. I have been trying with mushed up pellets mixed with water to syringe into her but she only takes a small amount. Maybe I could do with some help on how to syringe feed her more efficiently. And yes, she (Sheila) has been lonely since her Isa friend (Shirley) died, as she constantly follows us around the backyard and comes to our back door to look for us, if we're not outside. Her abdomen is warm and a little squishy but she has lost a lot of weight, so hard to tell. Her crop has been empty since this all happened, even with the little bit of food I'm getting into her. She has been drinking a little of the water with the multi-vitamins in it, but not drinking a lot. As others have suggested, as she is an old girl this may just be her time I will keep trying though and see how things go. But if you could post that syringe feeding video, that would be much appreciated. Thanks again.