About 2 weeks ago, I found my barred rock pullet (I think she was hatched mid or end of Feb.) on the ground under the roost, on her back, all twisted up. I examined her, and there was significant bruising on one wing, so I assumed she had jumped from somewhere/fallen and broken her wing. I put her in a hutch in the coop, and because of the heat, put a small fan in one end. Her food and water was on the other end. She scooted to the fan. I had injured myself, and my husband didn't really note that she wasn't moving. Possibly 36 hrs. or more, she was choosing fan over food and water. He came and told me he found her on her back twisted up again. I got her down to the house. Her body and neck was all wrong, hence our assumption it was wry neck. She didn't have a wobbly head like I saw in videos, she couldn't stand - seemed like her legs were weak, just collapsed under her - but her neck was tightly twisted like a number 5 against her body, her crop seemed to be where her shoulder should be, her head liked to face her tail - it was nightmarish. I wasn't able to get around, so had to make do: I gave her 1/4 a childrens chewable vitamin twice a day, 1 vitamin E, 1/2 a baby aspirin twice a day for the first few days, and mixed her water with Pedialyte. Her eyes had been sunken, but within a day or so, they filled in. Within a few more days, she was standing to eat, bracing herself against walls. She spends a lot of time standing now, but often, she quite suddenly starts walking backwards, sort of on her knees, crouched, head pulled in to body, tail in air, and usually in circles until she hits something, which seems to reset her to normal, and she stands up straight again, or just sits.
She had never had trouble stretching her head to eat or drink, and except when she was dehydrated, has never been lethargic. She still cannot stand for me to touch the base of her neck, acting like it hurts her, and it feels very sharp, bony, but idk if that is normal. Her poo seems perfectly normal. She doesn't seem too horribly thin, considering what she's been through. I've started letting her sit outside in a pen for about an hour each day so she can watch the chickens. If I don't pen her, they stomp her and she follows me. She fusses each day for attention, and tells me every time she poos, and has started trying to jump out of the bathtub, but can't. We don't have a vet that will treat chickens around here (I called several), but they did give me the number of this govt. guy who is in charge of aviary diseases or something like that, and he told me the above treatment, and that it was wry neck. I haven't called back about her current walking, because he seemed a little less than thrilled that I was calling about a sick chicken instead of a stockyard pandemic, even though he was helpful. He told me wry neck can be caused by brain injury, or vitamin deficiency, and with her walking funny now, I'm afraid it is head trauma, and I should cull.
Any ideas? My family can't keep a pet chicken in the tub forever...
She had never had trouble stretching her head to eat or drink, and except when she was dehydrated, has never been lethargic. She still cannot stand for me to touch the base of her neck, acting like it hurts her, and it feels very sharp, bony, but idk if that is normal. Her poo seems perfectly normal. She doesn't seem too horribly thin, considering what she's been through. I've started letting her sit outside in a pen for about an hour each day so she can watch the chickens. If I don't pen her, they stomp her and she follows me. She fusses each day for attention, and tells me every time she poos, and has started trying to jump out of the bathtub, but can't. We don't have a vet that will treat chickens around here (I called several), but they did give me the number of this govt. guy who is in charge of aviary diseases or something like that, and he told me the above treatment, and that it was wry neck. I haven't called back about her current walking, because he seemed a little less than thrilled that I was calling about a sick chicken instead of a stockyard pandemic, even though he was helpful. He told me wry neck can be caused by brain injury, or vitamin deficiency, and with her walking funny now, I'm afraid it is head trauma, and I should cull.
Any ideas? My family can't keep a pet chicken in the tub forever...
