Need Help! Aftermath of Fly Strike?

[xoxLEESExox]

Update on Myrtle:

So last night, I figured I would sit on the deck and sit her in my lap to feed / water her and massage her legs. I took her out of the sling and placed her on the deck so I sit.

She started flapping her wings trying to position herself .. even though her toes weren't curled, her legs seemed useless and she kind of went on her side and couldn't right herself.

Needless to say my heart broke but I sat her on my lap and got her to eat and drink along with the B12 vitamins. I massaged her legs and when I put her back in the sling, I did what @Wyorp Rock suggested and lowered her a little bit. That seemed to satisfy her and she wasn't flailing around as much to get settled.

This morning when I went to feed her, both my husband and I thought that she seemed to be getting worse. She doesn't appear to be in pain.. she's alert.. makes funny chicken noises... and I so get her to eat. Cream corn appears to be a favorite. I told him I wasn't ready to give up on her.

He's home during the day so he made sure she ate, drank and didn't hurt herself in anyway. When I got home from work, I noticed she was real low in the sling.. the towel I had used must have stretched or she must have moved herself back to much.

Still thinking about the amount of time she was in the sling, I thought it might be better to take her out. Usually at night I make sure she drinks for the night so I added the B12 to some fruit punch flavored power drink that has electrolytes in a gravy ladle and she drank a good bit of it.

Chicken Hack: If you have to use an electrolyte infused drink, don't use the red color ones. It dripped down her neck and I thought she was bleeding!

I filled a restaurant bus tub with a lot of hay. Enough so that I could mold it around her to keep her in place. I was afraid that she would flail over onto her side like she did in the morning and not be able to get up.

She settled in nicely and she drank another ladle of the power drink.

All of a sudden, she lifted her head high.. was looking around and then started preening herself!!! Seriously!

Her legs are still a huge issue but she seemed more herself in that little window of time then she has the past 2 weeks. So excited.

We're not out of the woods by any means but it was definitely a bright moment!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

 

[xoxLEESExox]

Sadly, this will be the last update on Myrtle.

Although it seemed like she was slowly getting better, I think it was wishing hoping on my part. I think what was going on is that I was just making her as comfortable as possible without realizing it.

On Saturday I thought putting her on the grass might brighten her spirits. So I put her in a safe place where the other girls wouldn't bother her and I could keep an eye on her. She pecked at the grass and even ate some raw egg. I had originally placed her on a towel because I was afraid of insects getting under her (she was still recovering from flystrike). She moved off the towel a few times by dragging herself by her wings.

When I put her back for the night, she had no interest in water/food.

On Sunday, I couldn't her to eat/drink anything. She just wasn't interested in food at all and was getting agitated whenever I tried to get her to drink. In my heart I knew she wasn't getting better and it has been impossible trying to find a vet in my area who would examiner her. That's a whole other story.

I finally admitted to my husband what he had already knew and this morning he gave her the gift of sleep.

I don't know how he did it.. and he will never tell me. I do know that although he is this tough manly-man who don't form the emotional ties that I do with my animals, he takes no joy when having to let go of a animal and he did it as painlessly and humanely as he could.

I want to thank everyone who offered advise or kind words. It means a lot!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sorry to hear.

 

[rebrascora]

I am so sorry you lost her. My gut feeling is that this was Marek's Disease from your description of her symptoms and attitude etc and the photos. I have Marek's in my flock so I am very familiar with the variable progression of the disease and there often are up and down periods. I am sad that your girl lost her battle with it. I give my Marek's birds every opportunity whilst they are bright eyed and still show an interest in food, but once they stop eating, that is also my cue to end it for them. I have had some remarkable recoveries but also losses of course and it really hurts when you have nursed and cared for them for weeks or months. If I had not had some recoveries then I might be inclined to cull them sooner as many people do but because I have had some really miraculous turnarounds, I have to give them the opportunity to fight it as long as they show the spirit to. The things that you did for your girl are very much what I would recommend.... sunshine and grass and the company of other chickens but in a safe environment have been the factors that have most often seemed to help them turn the corner, but it does not always work.

I hope this is an isolated incident and you do not see any other symptoms in your other birds. If they are all of a similar age then the chances are slimmer that you will see other birds develop it.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm so sorry to hear about Myrtle