Approximately two months ago one of my two year old hens wasn't in the coop when I went to shut them up in the evening. I found her listless and alone. Her comb was pale and dry. I immediately separated her out in and put her in a cage with access to food and water. For the first two days she would drink lots of water but was uninterested in food. After that she became ill to the point she wouldn't even drink. Her face/ eyelids became swollen to the point she would rarely open her eyes. Her poops were a watery green and a few times I found large roundworms. Her neck became bent over her right "shoulder" to where if you were looking at her from above, her left eye would be pointing directly at you. She had a slow stream of mucous coming from her mouth.
For two days I treated her with ivermectin and haven't seen roundworms in her poop since the first week of her sickness. She seems to have gotten over whatever sickness was attacking her system because her poops are not completely normal but are no longer watery and green and look more and more like they are supposed to as time goes on. She no longer has mucous coming out of her mouth and the swelling in her face is most if not completely gone. She is alert and aware of her surroundings. Her comb appears plumper and redder and she is readily able to drink on her own. She still isn't eating on her own so I've continued to feed her with a syringe a blended mix of chick feed, water, molasses, some sort of vegetable like carrots or red cabbage, raw eggs with their shells, Activia yogurt and a Centrum Multivitamin for people spread out over 3 or 4 days.
What I believe she's having the most trouble with now is her inability to move properly. It's as if the storm is over but has left behind damaged connections. Her neck is still often bent over her right shoulder and I rarely see her do anything but go backwards in circles. Sometimes I can encourage her to take two or three steps forward if she's thirsty and I offer her water at a distance but I can tell it takes her a great deal of mental exertion.
I've thought many times about putting her out but every time I do it seems she takes the smallest step towards recovery and I am compelled to give her more time. She has continued to take very small steps toward recovery but its very slow and there are still huge hurdles that need to be overcome.
Here are some pictures of her. Keep in mind she looks extremely disheveled because on top of having been ill shes started to molt in the last week or so.
(Holding her head somewhat normal)
(Holding her head not so normal)
Have any of you experienced this before? Is there some medication/vitamin/supplement/some other thing I could be doing in particular that will help her? This hen doesnt have a name but Ive decided that if she makes it through all this shell get one.
For two days I treated her with ivermectin and haven't seen roundworms in her poop since the first week of her sickness. She seems to have gotten over whatever sickness was attacking her system because her poops are not completely normal but are no longer watery and green and look more and more like they are supposed to as time goes on. She no longer has mucous coming out of her mouth and the swelling in her face is most if not completely gone. She is alert and aware of her surroundings. Her comb appears plumper and redder and she is readily able to drink on her own. She still isn't eating on her own so I've continued to feed her with a syringe a blended mix of chick feed, water, molasses, some sort of vegetable like carrots or red cabbage, raw eggs with their shells, Activia yogurt and a Centrum Multivitamin for people spread out over 3 or 4 days.
What I believe she's having the most trouble with now is her inability to move properly. It's as if the storm is over but has left behind damaged connections. Her neck is still often bent over her right shoulder and I rarely see her do anything but go backwards in circles. Sometimes I can encourage her to take two or three steps forward if she's thirsty and I offer her water at a distance but I can tell it takes her a great deal of mental exertion.
I've thought many times about putting her out but every time I do it seems she takes the smallest step towards recovery and I am compelled to give her more time. She has continued to take very small steps toward recovery but its very slow and there are still huge hurdles that need to be overcome.
Here are some pictures of her. Keep in mind she looks extremely disheveled because on top of having been ill shes started to molt in the last week or so.
(Holding her head somewhat normal)
(Holding her head not so normal)
Have any of you experienced this before? Is there some medication/vitamin/supplement/some other thing I could be doing in particular that will help her? This hen doesnt have a name but Ive decided that if she makes it through all this shell get one.
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