My hen will not walk! PLEASE HELP!

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Jennifer Travis

In the Brooder
Jun 1, 2017
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On Monday afternoon my husband came home from work to find our Japanese black tail Claire laying awkwardly in the coop. He thought maybe she had been injured although aside from our Rooster Ivan, Claire is actually top of the pecking order of our hens. We have 4 other hens besides Claire (2 Cinnamons, a bantam Americauna and a bantam Cochin.) I was out of town at my daughter's tennis match and told him to put her in the house until I got home. I arrived home about an hour later and looked her over. No injuries visible, no crop issues, no mites or anything, no actual signs that anything is wrong with her aside from her not wanting to move. Later in the evening my youngest daughter went out to check on her chicken and found in the loft area where Claire had been there was an egg. Our Cinnamons along with Claire and our other Cochin hen are all 20 weeks and we have not had any eggs yet until the one she found! The loft area is small, almost too small for the Cinnamons but I can't be sure who laid that egg. Today no eggs. Is it possible for a hen to be injured laying an egg for the 1st time? It is Wednesday and Claire still refuses to move. She started kind of leaning to one side today. She is still eating and drinking well, but I am having to clean her stool from her bottom several times a day, which is somewhat firm (she does enjoy the scratch which I know can make the stool
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a bit firmer.) She does not have any signs of Merecks either. Does anyone have any idea what could be causing her to have these problems?? I am attaching a couple of photos I took of her today when I took her out to get some fresh air and enjoy a cherry tomato. Ask any questions you may find necessary to help! I appreciate any and all advice!
 
Sometimes that's the only sign, that's why they are so difficult to decide to cull. Eventually they go downhill, but initially it's only that they suddenly can't walk. Things like botulism will affect the whole body, and especially the neck, hence the nickname of limber neck.
 
It sounds like your hen was possibly laying eggs before it suddenly stopped walking?? Do you think this could possibly be an egg-binding issue? Just asking the question as I am not familiar with these kinds of issues.
 
She wouldn't be "eggbound" in the true sense of the word - this happened on Monday, post was yesterday (late Wednesday) if truly eggbound, the pullet would be in a lot of distress or dying.

It's possible that she may have laid an egg internally or has a piece of soft shell in the oviduct, but a chicken would be looking very ill. These do cause symptoms like difficulty walking/lameness, sometimes standing and won't/can't lay down, lethargy, diarrhea that looks like it has egg yolks in it, a swollen/bloated or fluid filled abdomen and going off food/water.

It's hard to know without testing - but sudden illness/lameness like this could be Marek's like @oldhenlikesdogs has suggested. She is 20wks old, can't walk, is starting to lean to the side, looks fairly bright eyed in the photo and is eating/drinking well. Unfortunately, a chicken that has Marek's can look bright eye and eat/drink very well, they just can't seem move or at least move very well. This is a disease that has caused great frustration and heartache since the symptoms are so vague at times. Here is a very good read on Marek's symptoms and some common conditions that can mimic it as well http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

That said, it could be any number of other things going on- from some type of genetic/developmental disorder that is now just showing up, infection, vitamin/nutritional deficiency or some other condition.

Keep her hydrated, offer poultry vitamins that contain B vitamins or crush a human B-Complex tab and add to her feed daily. See that she is still eating well, that her crop is emptying overnight. If she continues to not have good use of her leg, then consider placing her in a sling for several hours a day (monitored) so she can be upright - sometimes this allows them to move their legs without having to bear so much weight - like therapy. If she declines and you lose her, sending her body for testing and necropsy will hopefully give you some answers.
 
So upon further inspection today, I mean I really got thorough, I believe she may have a dislocated hip. I am an EMT and generally can palpate and identify human dislocations, but a chicken is a bit different. She seemed to have a pain response to moving that side. If I gently massage the surrounding muscles she seems comforted. She is still quite perky and eating well. I cooked an egg for her today (1st time giving her egg) and she ravished it! Idk how to go about splinting or treating her, though I am going to attempt a sling with some large ACE bandage and possibly some other materials. Suggestions welcome! Also would love advice for the hip! I am feeling pretty confident at this point that she is not sick but is injured. Also I did find out that the new egg layer is in fact one of our Cinnamons Aeon. I am very thankful for this forum and all of you for your wonderful help and advice!
 
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