My chook has a brain injury, she’s getting worse.

[SomeChookLover]

A few months ago one of my Polish chooks got a hard peck on the head and was knocked unconscious, (I’d say given her breed, she probably has a vaulted skull). I was there at the time and took her inside and she woke up and recovered after a few minutes, but she was never quite right after. I moved her away from the rest on my chooks into the ‘All Abilities area’ with 2 other chickens and she seemed to be doing fine. She stopped laying, which is probably due to her injury, but when she was pecked there was no visible damage. One night something happened, and roughly every 10 minutes or so she would start running in circles and attacking whatever she could touch, but that seems to have been a 1 time incident.

I’m not sure if the photo will load, but incase it’s important here’s a picture of her. Her name is Pompom.

That’s about all the background information on her injury, but now the problem I’m currently facing. A few weeks ago she started getting worse. She’s become quite lethargic, she’ll walk from her perch to the composter they like to sit at but that’s about it. She hasn’t really been eating much, and is uninterested in some of her favourite snacks. While she does eat a little, it wouldn’t be enough to keep her healthy. She also recently started limping (though I think she might have scaly leg mites, which I am currently treating.) I’ve moved her away from the other 2 chooks just incase, though as far as I’m aware she hasn’t had any other head injuries. My family doesn’t think it’s worth paying money for a singular chicken, so won’t allow me to take her to the vet. I’m just not sure what to do at the moment. Any advice or information is welcome.

 

[Sally PB]

You can try tube feeding her.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/videos-on-how-to-tube-feed-chickens.78678/
Or you can end her suffering.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you try mixing her some wet chicken feed and a bit of egg once or twice a day and offering that to her while spending some time with her? A 1/4-1/2 tablet of human B complex vitamin s for humans, might increase her appetite. Vitamin E 400 IU is used to treat wry neck and neurological problems. I tend to let nature take its course with chickens. Hopefully she will get along okay, but I prefer to leave them with others.