No depth perception or walking after cat attack

[Chibichabo]

Hi all, I had a cat break into my coop on Thursday morning. I lost 3 girls, one was untouched, and 3 injured. One of the injured girls is alright now, but two are still not good.

Nugget: 2yo bantam mutt. Initially couldn’t stand, Friday couldn’t weight bear on right leg, today she can stand but not walk. She’s also not eating or drinking so she’s being crop fed with subcut fluids. She will not even try to eat or drink. On palpation, there was a sharp bone edge felt in pelvic region, but no other fractures found.

Cass: 10 month old Vorwerk bantam. Completely unable to weight bear/stand/walk. She somehow managed to lay an egg yesterday (Friday). She is happy to try to eat & drink, but she seems to have no depth perception and is being hand fed with subcut fluids. On palpation, found no indication of broken bones, and can she can move both legs slightly.

Both have been on 10mg cephalex and 4ml meloxicam bd since Thursday morning. Neither had any external injuries or puncture wounds visible. Being offered their usual layer crumbles and bird seed, being crop fed raw egg, water, alfalfa powder & lsa powder.

The only bird specialist vet was at full capacity Thursday & is closed Friday-Monday. All other vets in the area are absolutely useless when it comes to birds, to the point that I know more about what meds they can have than they do.

If they make it until Tuesday, im going to try to get them into the bird vet for X-rays. Until then, is there anything that would cause the depth perception issue & inability to walk? Is there something else I should/shouldn’t be doing?

 

[Chick3nLover]

Hi all, I had a cat break into my coop on Thursday morning. I lost 3 girls, one was untouched, and 3 injured. One of the injured girls is alright now, but two are still not good.

Nugget: 2yo bantam mutt. Initially couldn’t stand, Friday couldn’t weight bear on right leg, today she can stand but not walk. She’s also not eating or drinking so she’s being crop fed with subcut fluids. She will not even try to eat or drink. On palpation, there was a sharp bone edge felt in pelvic region, but no other fractures found.

Cass: 10 month old Vorwerk bantam. Completely unable to weight bear/stand/walk. She somehow managed to lay an egg yesterday (Friday). She is happy to try to eat & drink, but she seems to have no depth perception and is being hand fed with subcut fluids. On palpation, found no indication of broken bones, and can she can move both legs slightly.

Both have been on 10mg cephalex and 4ml meloxicam bd since Thursday morning. Neither had any external injuries or puncture wounds visible. Being offered their usual layer crumbles and bird seed, being crop fed raw egg, water, alfalfa powder & lsa powder.

The only bird specialist vet was at full capacity Thursday & is closed Friday-Monday. All other vets in the area are absolutely useless when it comes to birds, to the point that I know more about what meds they can have than they do.

If they make it until Tuesday, im going to try to get them into the bird vet for X-rays. Until then, is there anything that would cause the depth perception issue & inability to walk? Is there something else I should/shouldn’t be doing?

I’m so sorry to hear this. When I used to live in the country on land, animal attacks were the absolute worst news. I’ll be praying for you.

I really don’t know much about your questions, and you seem very intelligent on what to do. I’ll tag some of my favorite people that can usually help.

@casportpony
@Eggcessive

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Nugget: 2yo bantam mutt. Initially couldn’t stand, Friday couldn’t weight bear on right leg, today she can stand but not walk. She’s also not eating or drinking so she’s being crop fed with subcut fluids. She will not even try to eat or drink. On palpation, there was a sharp bone edge felt in pelvic region, but no other fractures found.

Cass: 10 month old Vorwerk bantam. Completely unable to weight bear/stand/walk. She somehow managed to lay an egg yesterday (Friday). She is happy to try to eat & drink, but she seems to have no depth perception and is being hand fed with subcut fluids. On palpation, found no indication of broken bones, and can she can move both legs slightly.

Both have been on 10mg cephalex and 4ml meloxicam bd since Thursday morning.

Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry for your loss.
Sounds like you are doing what you can for them.
Check your dosing of antibiotic, do some research to make sure what dosing is correct, but my dosing info says that Cephalexin dosage is 35-50 mg per kg 4 times a day for 7 days (for poultry).

I would re-check for any puncture wounds, abrasions or bruising.

Sometimes when birds are startled, they can flush and severely injure themselves by flying against roofs/walls, etc.
Not being able to walk they may have been squeezed or suffered some neurological damage.
Keep working on hydration and getting nutrition into them. Kaytee Exact Baby Bird Formula can be tubed, it's a fairly balanced food for chickens short term.
Adding 400IU Vitamin E daily along with 1/4 tablet B-Complex may be beneficial as well.

Hopefully your vet can see them quickly.

 

[Eggcessive]

There may be something going on with the eyes or a head injury affecting depth perception. Homemade chicken sling chairs can nelp with lame chickens for periods throughout the day to get them upright, keep them cleaner, and in front of food and water bowls. Here are some examples:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

 

[Psyclops]

No depth perception tells me no or severely diminished sight in 1 eye. You need 2 eyes to see depth.