Immobile chicken, trouble walking, egg bound?

[motherchook]

Hello everybody
I've got a problem with our 26 week old Langshan. She hasn't started laying yet (none of our 8 chooks have, but then it is Winter here in New Zealand) and now we're quite worried about her. Here's why: On Thursday night, we went and checked the chicken house, to see if they were all in. Louise (the Langshan) was not on the perch like the other ones, but sitting on the ground. We didn't think much and put her up with the others. The next morning, they all came out as usual. But when it started raining and all the others went back into the house, Louise stayed behind, just sittin on the ground. We weren't at home, but Grandma somehow moved her to a sheltered spot, where she stayed the whole day.
She just doesn't want to move, but looks otherwise normal. We thought she might be eggbound and after consulting the www, we took her inside, made her comfortable, gave her a warm bath and I even put a glove on with some KY to check and lube her vent. I couldn't feel an egg but she does open and close her vent as if she's trying to get something out... and so we're wondering if she is actually eggbound... and if not, what her problem might be!
She's eating normally and she also poops normally. She just mostly sits on the ground and if I pick her up and move her a little bit, she has to put a lot of effort into walking a few steps and then she just sits down again.
I'm not sure what to do and I'm hoping that one of you might have had a similar problem and can give me some advice.
Thank you very much!

 

[motherchook]

Update on Louise: I've taken her to the vet and she is definitely not eggbound, which I'm very glad about. But she does have a temperature (just over 41°C) and thus some sort of infection. The vet gave me some antibiotics that I have to give in her water over four days. She's still inside and seperate from the others and eating well. Hopefully she'll come around.

 

[AdrieeC]

I have a similar issue with one of my older hens. I thought she might also be egg bound. She passed some egg parts a few days ago. I would expect her to be dead by now if she was still egg bound. She still walks with a limp and keeps her tail down, seems to be staying the same. I am not sure about the fever, but I plan to start antibiotics today. Keep us posted.

 

[Jaguaress]

If you haven't wormed her recently, please do a search for the great information that's posted here about worming chickens. She may be trying to pass a large mass of worms, but this is just my ignorant opinion.

Good luck.

 

[motherchook]

Thank you very much for your replies. Today was the third day for the antibiotic treatment and Louise is doing much better. She's walking around with the others now, but can't run yet. She also can't jump up onto the roost in the chicken house. We've been putting her up so that she can cuddle up with the others. She doesn't seem 100% yet and I hope that she will improve still!

 

[elabell]

Can you let me know specifically what antibiotics you are using? I fear I have the same problem with one of my hens, my sweet little naked neck. I am going to call the vet tomorrow morning, but I have a feeling the vet is not used to treating chickens (not really common to have chickens in my area) so I want to know what to ask for if the vet doesn't have a recommendation or is unsure. Thank you!!

 

[motherchook]

Quote:
I don't know if this is helpful at all, since it's been almost a week, but the antibiotic was called "Baytril 2.5%" (liquid), 4 doses of 1.25 ml. However, my vet has not had much experience with chickens either, so she might have just gotten lucky. How is your chicken doing in the meantime? Louise seems to be back to her almost normal self. She's running around with the others and seems fine. She's got some diarrhoea, but that could be a result of the antibiotics.

 

[elabell]

Poppy is doing fine. Actually, she was acting fine before, as well. It was more of just a precaution. I saw some broken eggshell pieces near her vent and was worried that the egg might have broken inside as it was coming out. I got the antibiotic they had at the feed store, tetracycline hydrochloride. She has been on it for a week. I don't know if it helped prevent any infections, or if she would have been fine regardless. I just know how delicate birds can be, and how quickly a little problem can turn disastrous.

Thanks for the reply, though!