My hen will not stand

[mb]

Hi everyone, I hope someone can help me. I just got a hen and she is about 3 months old. She was running around, eating, drinking and just being a fun chick. The other day I went outside to feed her and she was just standing there and not running away. The next day she was just sitting down and had a hard time walking. Now she does'nt walk at all. She eats and drinks and is very alert. Does anyone think she is sick or just injured?

 

[mypicklebird]

More information is needed:
Where from, what is she eating, how are you keeping her, is she Mareks vaccinated, are there other chickens with her, how long have you had her, wounds? feces? respiratory signs?
She may have Mareks. She could be injured. She could have a dietary deficiency. More information may help the folk help you & your pullet. Jess

 

[mb]

We got our hen from a friend in Delaware County, NY We feed her oyster shells, corn and layer pellets. She was with other hens but now she is only with one. Her feces is a green color and a little runny. Her breathing seems fine. The other hen seems fine so far. She will not leave the other hen's side. Only comes out of her house when we pick the other hen up and put her outside. It's like she is comforting the sick/hurt hen. She was vaccinated before we got her.
Today I went home for lunch to check on her and she looks fine but still will not stand up. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please let us know.

Thanks

 

[dlhunicorn]

Exactly for what was she vaccinated? If not for cocci then was she on medicated starter? What breed is she? Please ask your friend for this info.
Moving to a new place is very stressful for a bird and stress in birds can and does affect teir physiology... they often reduce their feed intake (and water too and if she is not moving then she is also unable to get to sufficient feed and water ... insufficient feed intake would be the most likely explanation for the green faeces. Get a good supplement (I always recommend aviacharge 2000 which you can order from McMurrays online) as it is one of the few complete nutritional and itamin supplements. You can also give her three drops of Polyvisol Enfamil formulation a day for a week then taper off the next in addition to the avia charge (polyvisol is a liquid childrens A-B-D supplement) . A good trick to get a bird to eat is to get a slice of watermelon and scoop out an indentation and put the feed in that...the red will encourage her to peck and the watermelon provides hydration. Give her some live culture unflavored yogurt (free choice).

 

[mb]

She 's a brahma. I called my friend and she said the hen got all her vaccinations. Today she seemed like she wanted to get up and go with the other hen but she couldn't get up. She let's me hold her and I help her stand so she can drink and eat. I gave her some fruit and she she seemed like she liked it. This weekend I'm going to get her the vitamins and tomorrow morning I'll try the yogurt. Can a vitamin deficiency have this effect?

 

[Silkie Sue]

I don't really have any helpful advise on top of what the others said.... I just want to let you know I know how you feel. in the spring
I got a pair of black Silkies at an auction and when we got home one was fine and the other could not walk... my husband turned our basement into " chicken rehab"
We hand fed her and watered her with an eye dropper ... we vaccinated her and gave her vitamins
We think her problem was she was picked on where she came from and just hid and did not eat.... she was very very skinny
Right now she is an expectant mother any minute!!!

I hope your story turns out this good

 

[Chickybaby]

May sound strange, but I've also got a Brahma of about the same age that is doing exactly the same thing (she's a Dk Brahma). I've had her since she was a week old and never had any kind of problem until, well, this... she was fine one night and the following morning she was just laying there all hunched up. She was walking/wobbling/hobbling but not easily, so I put her in a cage in the coop so she can be with the others but they can't get to her. She eats well (especially likes yogurt, hard boiled egg and fruits) but it's getting harder for her to reach it. Her eyes are clear, she's alert and does not appear ill - maybe got hurt? Been this way for about a week now. DH and I decided if she doesn't return to normal by the weekend, we'll have to take action. I just HATE it when things go wrong ! Good luck with yours. Sure wish I knew what happened to them...

 

[dlhunicorn]

an afterthought:
you do not mix the oyster shell in with the feed do you? If so stop immediately as this should be given free choice (otherwise you run the risk of giving excess calcium which is just as bad as too little)

 

[mb]

Thank you soo soo much everyone. I too turned my yard into a chicken rehab. I took everyones advice. I bought vitamins, yogurt and some fruit today. She seemed a little better this morning but later in the day see seemed depressed. I will take your advice with the oyster shells. Makes sense to me.

To the owners of the Braham, good luck and let me know the outcome. I too hate when things go wrong.

Also, congratulations to the Silkies.

If anyone else has any advice, I am all ears

 

[daddyssteeler]

do you feed your chickens vegatables or fruits before this happened? she might habe bachilism from the vegatables and fruits being older. two of or chickens had it and became paralyzed