Last night, after letting my Polish bantam hen "Pete" out along with the others for some playtime in the yard, I soon realized something was very wrong. She seemed extremely disoriented, was stumbling around as if drunk, walking backwards, and falling over. All the others were fine. They are about a year old, and have always been extremely active.
We tried to get Pete to eat, but she wasn't hungry. She did start moving her head along the ground from side to side, and I thought maybe she was trying to get something from the grass, but I later read that this was another sign of head injury in Polish. I also read that head injury was common in them because their skulls are open. At this point I'm really almost certain this is Pete's problem.
I had read a thread on here about another Polish with the same symptoms. By the time I got to page 7 I tearfully realized the chicken had died. I'm wondering if anybody has had a Polish survive a brain injury?
Pete is now in a bed by herself. She was very agitated last night, but seems a little less jerky today. She seemed to recognize her name this morning.
It is hard to watch as she has always been so happy go lucky. That's part of the reason she became a "Hen called Pete". Any ideas on things I can do for her will be very appreciated. I love all of my chickens, but Pete is one of those really special little pets.
Thanks,
Cynthia
We tried to get Pete to eat, but she wasn't hungry. She did start moving her head along the ground from side to side, and I thought maybe she was trying to get something from the grass, but I later read that this was another sign of head injury in Polish. I also read that head injury was common in them because their skulls are open. At this point I'm really almost certain this is Pete's problem.
I had read a thread on here about another Polish with the same symptoms. By the time I got to page 7 I tearfully realized the chicken had died. I'm wondering if anybody has had a Polish survive a brain injury?
Pete is now in a bed by herself. She was very agitated last night, but seems a little less jerky today. She seemed to recognize her name this morning.
It is hard to watch as she has always been so happy go lucky. That's part of the reason she became a "Hen called Pete". Any ideas on things I can do for her will be very appreciated. I love all of my chickens, but Pete is one of those really special little pets.
Thanks,
Cynthia