North Carolina

[Hollowoakfarm]

I need help!! One of my chickens attacked and hurt another little hen. She isn't hurt bad that I can tell, some blood around her face on one side. I cleaned it up some. She is limp though with eyes closed and just peeps. Shaking some so I have her inside with me under a heat light. She wont sit up and her head is just limp. Is this just shock?? What do I do now??

Have you opened her eyes to check for damage, by the way?

I had one last year that somehow got tangled in a fence. I found her upside down, and I thought she was dead or dying. I got her out of the fence, and she just lay there, trembling and making tiny little peep noises. I almost put her on the compost pile. Then decided I wouldn't want my last bit of life to involve fire ants, so I brought her in and lay her in a basket under a heat lamp. A few hours later when I went to "collect the body" for disposal, she informed me in no uncertain terms that she was done being in a basket in the house and it was time to Go Out! Chickens can be very resilient. My crossables are crossed!

 

[AmyLou1782]

Have you opened her eyes to check for damage, by the way?

I had one last year that somehow got tangled in a fence.  I found her upside down, and I thought she was dead or dying.  I got her out of the fence, and she just lay there, trembling and making tiny little peep noises.  I almost put her on the compost pile.  Then decided I wouldn't want my last bit of life to involve fire ants, so I brought her in and lay her in a basket under a heat lamp.  A few hours later when I went to "collect the body" for disposal, she informed me in no uncertain terms that she was done being in a basket in the house and it was time to Go Out!   Chickens can be very resilient.  My crossables are crossed!

Well, she doesn't seem to be much worse but isn't better either. I've been reading other threads with people saying they've had them bounce back just like you have. I'm hoping for the best, she's a really sweet chicken. Her eyes seem ok. She has opened them up when I've gone to handle her, mainly to flip her back over onto her side. She pitches a fit though which makes me think her neck is hurt.

 

[BHep]

Well, she doesn't seem to be much worse but isn't better either. I've been reading other threads with people saying they've had them bounce back just like you have. I'm hoping for the best, she's a really sweet chicken. Her eyes seem ok. She has opened them up when I've gone to handle her, mainly to flip her back over onto her side. She pitches a fit though which makes me think her neck is hurt.

I would leave her be and let her rest quietly ....don't need to add stress. JMO

 

[Coop Scoop Boogie]

I would leave her be and let her rest quietly ....don't need to add stress. JMO

Since she is a polish means you are dealing with a vaulted head breed
and if they get an injury on top of the head they can be floopy for a bit
..........if I remember right......RF knows so much more than me on the
vaulted head breeds............hope she comes back on soon. Good luck
with your hen......hope she is better soon

 

[ramirezframing]

Amylou she could now have wry neck aka crooked-neck. Here's a link on it Dragonflies and Dandelions - Alan Stanford on CROOKNECK (from injury to head) It helped me with my polish roo years ago. My roo recovered only a little bit (it took a few months before I found out what was wrong with him) but he lived for another year. He just got the name flip because he would flip over backwards all the time. But he could eat, drink and walk. The only thing is that unless he was crowing his head was tucked under his body. I also had a silkie chick develop this and treated right away. She has no signs of it now and its been over a year. Good luck and keep us updated

 

[AmyLou1782]

I would leave her be and let her rest quietly ....don't need to add stress.  JMO  

[COLOR=008000]Since she is a polish means you are dealing with a vaulted head breed[/COLOR]
[COLOR=008000]and if they get an injury on top of the head they can be floopy for a bit[/COLOR]
[COLOR=008000]..........if I remember right......RF knows so much more than me on the[/COLOR]
[COLOR=008000]vaulted head breeds............hope she comes back on soon.  Good luck[/COLOR]
[COLOR=008000]with your hen......hope she is better soon [/COLOR]

Amylou she could now have wry neck aka crooked-neck. Here's a link on it  [COLOR=810081]Dragonflies and Dandelions - Alan Stanford on CROOKNECK (from injury to head)[/COLOR]   It helped me with my polish roo years ago. My roo recovered only a little bit (it took a few months before I found out what was wrong with him) but he lived for another year. He just got the name flip because he would flip over backwards all the time. But he could eat, drink and walk. The only thing is that unless he was crowing his head was tucked under his body.  I also had a silkie chick develop this and treated right away. She has no signs of it now and its been over a year.  Good luck and keep us updated

Thanks y'all, that is interesting article Rameriz, I will pick up what I need tomorrow for her. She's getting a lot more active in the crate this last hour. Lots of chirping and squirming around. Hopefully she is coming around. I had no idea about the crested breeds having soft spots in their heads. Thank you all for your advice, I really want her to pull through.

 

[Matt A NC]

With a vaulted skull, a peck to the head can cause swelling in the brain. As long as it is not too bad, the swelling should go down with time. Hopefully there is no permanent damage. Just keep getting some nutrition in her, keep her clean, and wait. I would give her a 48 hours to really start improving.

Matt

 

[AmyLou1782]

Thanks y'all, that is interesting article Rameriz, I will pick up what I need tomorrow for her. She's getting a lot more active in the crate this last hour. Lots of chirping and squirming around. Hopefully she is coming around. I had no idea about the crested breeds having soft spots in their heads. Thank you all for your advice, I really want her to pull through.

With a vaulted skull, a peck to the head can cause swelling in the brain.  As long as it is not too bad, the swelling should go down with time.  Hopefully there is no permanent damage.  Just keep getting some nutrition in her, keep her clean, and wait.  I would give her a 48 hours to really start improving.

Matt

Should I keep the heat lamp on her if she's in my house? It's 71 in here now.

 

[BHep]

Should I keep the heat lamp on her if she's in my house? It's 71 in here now.

At 16 weeks...I don't think she need it since she is inside.

 

[AmyLou1782]

At 16 weeks...I don't think she need it since she is inside.

Ok, the only reason I had it on her was that I was worried she was in shock right after it happened. She was shivering so bad and her feet were freezing. That's all stopped now though.