- Jun 7, 2013
- 1
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Hello everyone, I am having an issue with a chicken whom I thought may be egg bound but she is not. I will go through the questions below and hopefully I may get guided in the right direction.
1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
She is a Plymouth Barred Rock, approx 20 wks old, and she is of normal weight and size compared to my 4 others.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
She is barely moving. She will lay in a nest all day if she could. She walks like she is injured, almost wabbling or fumbling with her footing. When she sits her right wing kind of droops and she will will just let me pick her up without a fuss (unlike my other girls) She doesn't have any labored breathing, her eyes are clear and normal as well. She is more chatty when I am near her and doesn't seem to care what is going on around her.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
She has been this way for almost a week now. So I am getting worried.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
None of my other birds are experiencing any other symptoms and I have 4 other 20wk old Barred Rocks, 2 - 3mo old Reds, and 1 - 2.5mo old Light Brahma.
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
I have checked her feet for open wounds or sores and there is nothing. Her right foot doesn't seem to open all the way, almost like she has hammertoes. And when I pick her up and put her on her back to examine her she always curls it up while the other is open wide like a normal stanced foot. But she has no signs of trauma or injuries that I can see.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
I have no idea why this is happening. I thought maybe because she is of egg laying age and she has eggs that were binding her up but that doesn't seem to be a problem. She hasn't laid an egg, only one of our chickens has so far.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
She is currently eatting poultry feed - Chicken Grower. I get it at our local feed store. She is eating and drinking water with no problems. We also have poultry bird seed snack that we offer our chicks, it has sunflower seeds, and other seeds in it. We give them dried meal worm treats from time to time (store bought) and also they have oyster shell available in their run. Their water is changed 2x per day and comes from our back yard water hose.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Poop is normal and runny depending on her stress. There are no worms in her poop and no mites near her vent.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
I thought she was egg bound so I gave her a warm water bath for 30 min and dried her off after but I did that 5 days ago. Other than that there has been no other treatment because I don't know what is the matter with her.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? I really don't want to take her to a vet if I don't have to. I also am not interested in her suffering if she is ill and won't get better. She is not acting like she is stiff legged and she is vaccinated.
11) Describe the housing/bedding in use
We use for bedding pine shavings from the feed store & Timothy hay & straw for nesting.
Any ideas on what it could be? I have no clue and feel like it is time to decide what to do with her. I am not interested in her suffering but I also can't afford a huge vet bill on a chicken either. I am grateful for any thoughts or ideas on the matter. Thank you for your time.
1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
She is a Plymouth Barred Rock, approx 20 wks old, and she is of normal weight and size compared to my 4 others.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
She is barely moving. She will lay in a nest all day if she could. She walks like she is injured, almost wabbling or fumbling with her footing. When she sits her right wing kind of droops and she will will just let me pick her up without a fuss (unlike my other girls) She doesn't have any labored breathing, her eyes are clear and normal as well. She is more chatty when I am near her and doesn't seem to care what is going on around her.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
She has been this way for almost a week now. So I am getting worried.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
None of my other birds are experiencing any other symptoms and I have 4 other 20wk old Barred Rocks, 2 - 3mo old Reds, and 1 - 2.5mo old Light Brahma.
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
I have checked her feet for open wounds or sores and there is nothing. Her right foot doesn't seem to open all the way, almost like she has hammertoes. And when I pick her up and put her on her back to examine her she always curls it up while the other is open wide like a normal stanced foot. But she has no signs of trauma or injuries that I can see.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
I have no idea why this is happening. I thought maybe because she is of egg laying age and she has eggs that were binding her up but that doesn't seem to be a problem. She hasn't laid an egg, only one of our chickens has so far.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
She is currently eatting poultry feed - Chicken Grower. I get it at our local feed store. She is eating and drinking water with no problems. We also have poultry bird seed snack that we offer our chicks, it has sunflower seeds, and other seeds in it. We give them dried meal worm treats from time to time (store bought) and also they have oyster shell available in their run. Their water is changed 2x per day and comes from our back yard water hose.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Poop is normal and runny depending on her stress. There are no worms in her poop and no mites near her vent.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
I thought she was egg bound so I gave her a warm water bath for 30 min and dried her off after but I did that 5 days ago. Other than that there has been no other treatment because I don't know what is the matter with her.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? I really don't want to take her to a vet if I don't have to. I also am not interested in her suffering if she is ill and won't get better. She is not acting like she is stiff legged and she is vaccinated.
11) Describe the housing/bedding in use
We use for bedding pine shavings from the feed store & Timothy hay & straw for nesting.
Any ideas on what it could be? I have no clue and feel like it is time to decide what to do with her. I am not interested in her suffering but I also can't afford a huge vet bill on a chicken either. I am grateful for any thoughts or ideas on the matter. Thank you for your time.
