Mama hen suddenly stumbly. What can I do?

[Atlas The Chicken Tender]

So one of our hens, a mama of four beautiful babies, has suddenly started to stumble around (just today). In observing her, it seems like she's leaning too far out on her left hip and it's causing her to fall on that side. Other than that (and some butt feather loss), she's not displaying any other symptoms. She gets a 20% protein all-flock feed with some thyme in it to prevent sour crop, can free feed on crushed oyster shells. I checked her and couldn't feel any swelling and there was nothing wrong with her foot that I could tell. So I don't know if she's dislocated it or if she's ill, please help!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

So one of our hens, a mama of four beautiful babies, has suddenly started to stumble around (just today). In observing her, it seems like she's leaning too far out on her left hip and it's causing her to fall on that side. Other than that (and some butt feather loss), she's not displaying any other symptoms. She gets a 20% protein all-flock feed with some thyme in it to prevent sour crop, can free feed on crushed oyster shells. I checked her and couldn't feel any swelling and there was nothing wrong with her foot that I could tell. So I don't know if she's dislocated it or if she's ill, please help!

How long was she sitting, just a normal 21 day(ish) cycle?

Check her over for lice/mites.

I'd start giving her 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily, just pop it into her beak. Could she have jumped from a roost and injured herself?

How old are her chicks now?

If you have photos of her and the chicks that would be sweet.

 

[Atlas The Chicken Tender]

How long was she sitting, just a normal 21 day(ish) cycle?

Check her over for lice/mites.

I'd start giving her 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily, just pop it into her beak. Could she have jumped from a roost and injured herself?

How old are her chicks now?

If you have photos of her and the chicks that would be sweet.

She was sitting for about a week, we shoved some chicks under her so she wouldn't starve herself to death trying to incubate nothing. We've had them about two weeks now I think? Maybe three! The chicks (which we call the nuggets) are about a month old as far as we know, still just little fluffs that are barely starting to grow tail feathers. She's been such a good mama to them.

I'll check her for mites, I'm sure we probably have them though what with living in the woods. So demiting powder and B-complex tablets? I'll give them a go! She isn't roosting right now, she's still down with her babies.

Here's a picture of them when we first got them!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She was sitting for about a week, we shoved some chicks under her so she wouldn't starve herself to death trying to incubate nothing. We've had them about two weeks now I think? Maybe three! The chicks (which we call the nuggets) are about a month old as far as we know, still just little fluffs that are barely starting to grow tail feathers. She's been such a good mama to them.

I'll check her for mites, I'm sure we probably have them though what with living in the woods. So demiting powder and B-complex tablets? I'll give them a go! She isn't roosting right now, she's still down with her babies.

Here's a picture of them when we first got them!

So cute!

Hopefully it's just a strain/sprain will heal quickly.

 

[Atlas The Chicken Tender]

So cute!

Hopefully it's just a strain/sprain will heal quickly.

Thank you! Some quick updates for you, lone commenter.
First, because of her condition, a predator got into the coop the next night and killed 3 out of 4 of the babies. Two were just completely gone, and the third was found on the other side of the coop stretched out longways. We think it was a snake that got them. One baby is still living, and we named her Nemo.

Because her lameness wasn't getting any better, we ended up taking her to the vet and unfortunately, it's seeming more like metal toxicity. She ended up swallowing two little bits of an unknown metal, so if she can't pass them in the next day or two, we're going to have to send her for an expensive procedure to get them removed. Any advice on how to forcibly empty a chicken's crop without the need for surgical intervention? Thanks for your well wishes!

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about the snake killing the chicks. Is she still with the lone chick? Where are the 2 pieces of metal located in her body? Are they still in the crop or where did they show up on the xray? Do you have a copy of it? If they were in the crop, could they not do crop surgery? Do you know what they were, screws, or other sharps? What type of metal? How long ago was the X-ray? You may have better luck getting her to eat and pass them on to the gizzard or intestines. Soft cooked egg, and I have even heard of feeding sour kraut from one of our European posters, to get the food to move the metal. I have never dealt with this, but heavy metal toxicity can be dealt with by chelating agents by the vet. I would separate her and monitor her poops. To be honest, when @Wyorp Rock answers a thread, she is probably the one of the best with advice. That may be why no one else posted. But you can always update your thread by posting more often.

 

[Atlas The Chicken Tender]

Sorry about the snake killing the chicks. Is she still with the lone chick? Where are the 2 pieces of metal located in her body? Are they still in the crop or where did they show up on the xray? Do you have a copy of it? If they were in the crop, could they not do crop surgery? Do you know what they were, screws, or other sharps? What type of metal? How long ago was the X-ray? You may have better luck getting her to eat and pass them on to the gizzard or intestines. Soft cooked egg, and I have even heard of feeding sour kraut from one of our European posters, to get the food to move the metal. I have never dealt with this, but heavy metal toxicity can be dealt with by chelating agents by the vet. I would separate her and monitor her poops. To be honest, when @Wyorp Rock answers a thread, she is probably the one of the best with advice. That may be why no one else posted. But you can always update your thread by posting more often.

Hi, thank you for replying! Yes, she is still a pretty attentive mama hen after all this, but with how she was before, it tracks. She would attack any other bird that got close to her babies. The metal is still in her crop, towards the bottom if I'm not mistaken. The vet was going to send copies of the x-rays, but they haven't as of yet and they're closed until next week for repairs.
Every vet I've spoken to either was extremely shady in their practices, couldn't help us, or didn't have the equipment to do crop surgery. They did give us some meloxicam to help with the inflammation. I'm not really sure what the metal bits were but they aren't sharp. They're a little like woobly peanuts almost? That was done on Tuesday. We aren't sure what kind of metal it is, but it is likely iron. Frankly, I'm not even sure where she found it.
I'll cook her up some soft boiled eggs for her tomorrow morning. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you feel the metal in her crop? I would have thought it would have moved on by now? There are many videos online on crop surgery, but I would not do it at home without a vet. I would try feeding the soft cooked egg and the sour kraut which could grab the metal and take it on through. Please let us know what happens.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you! Some quick updates for you, lone commenter.
First, because of her condition, a predator got into the coop the next night and killed 3 out of 4 of the babies. Two were just completely gone, and the third was found on the other side of the coop stretched out longways. We think it was a snake that got them. One baby is still living, and we named her Nemo.

Because her lameness wasn't getting any better, we ended up taking her to the vet and unfortunately, it's seeming more like metal toxicity. She ended up swallowing two little bits of an unknown metal, so if she can't pass them in the next day or two, we're going to have to send her for an expensive procedure to get them removed. Any advice on how to forcibly empty a chicken's crop without the need for surgical intervention? Thanks for your well wishes!

They're a little like woobly peanuts almost? That was done on Tuesday. We aren't sure what kind of metal it is, but it is likely iron. Frankly, I'm not even sure where she found it.

I'm sorry for your losses, it's sad to lose chicks.

Did they give you a copy of the XRay? Just curious as to the shapes you are seeing - woobly peanuts...

If all the metal is in the crop, then it would seem that crop surgery would be the best course of action to take.

If you chose not to have surgery, look up "Hardware Toxicity" in poultry/chickens, there's quite a bit of information online.

 

[Atlas The Chicken Tender]

I'm sorry for your losses, it's sad to lose chicks.

Did they give you a copy of the XRay? Just curious as to the shapes you are seeing - woobly peanuts...

If all the metal is in the crop, then it would seem that crop surgery would be the best course of action to take.

If you chose not to have surgery, look up "Hardware Toxicity" in poultry/chickens, there's quite a bit of information online.

Thank you. My husband and I were devastated when we found out.
I would send pictures of the x-ray, but the vet is closed until Monday. They're unable to do crop surgery and the few hospitals around with the capability to do so were either ridiculously shady or told us to just euthanize her and I don't want to give up on her just yet. She's still eating and pooping and is otherwise alright, just very ataxic.