Poorly Chicken

[lulubell15]

Found one of my girls this morning on the floor of the coop, have felt her all over & can't feel any broken bones. She just seems to have lost the use of her legs.
She was fine yesterday & when I checked in the evening all chucks were on their roosts. I am wondering is she fell of the roost & is in shock. I have placed her in a separate section to see if she will rally round or if she gets worse. So sad as she is only last years bird & lays a beautiful pale green egg. She was hatched along with a Brahma rooster, he's a big lad, they are always together & he's very active with her. Any suggestions as to what's wrong?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

When did she last lay an egg?
Is she lethargic?
It would be worth feeling inside the vent about 1-2" for an egg. See if you can give her drops of water.

What's her poop like?

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your hen. Does she move her legs or feet when you touch them? Does she try to stand and then use her wings to help balance? It may be hard to determine if she has an injury from falling or mating by the big rooster, or if she could be egg bound, or have something like Mareks disease. Do you know if she was vaccinated for Mareks?

I would keep her separated within reach of food and water. Check for egg binding by inserting a clean finger inside her vent 1-2 inches. Let us know what you feel. A sling or chicken chair is sometimes useful for a few hours a day to get them upright and in front of food and water. Here is a good link with homemade sling pictures to make:
https://www.google.com/search?q=chicken+slings+and+chairs&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is some reading about Mareks disease, but I hope that she doesn’t have that:
https://extension.umd.edu/sites/ext...Preventing Mareks Disease in Small Flocks.pdf

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

 

[lulubell15]

Thank you Wyrop Rock & Eggcessive. Have checked for eggs & nothing within first 1- 2 inches. She did lay 2 days ago ( only girl to lay light green egg). Not too sure on poop, but think it was a bit runny. She was grand yesterday, out around the yard & field with the others, this just came on very suddenly. She is separated from the others & has access to food & water. Will see how she gets on through the evening.

 

[lulubell15]

Found one of my girls this morning on the floor of the coop, have felt her all over & can't feel any broken bones. She just seems to have lost the use of her legs.
She was fine yesterday & when I checked in the evening all chucks were on their roosts. I am wondering is she fell of the roost & is in shock. I have placed her in a separate section to see if she will rally round or if she gets worse. So sad as she is only last years bird & lays a beautiful pale green egg. She was hatched along with a Brahma rooster, he's a big lad, they are always together & he's very active with her. Any suggestions as to what's wrong?

I am pleased to say that this hen has recovered nicely. I seperated her from the others for a few days, she was eating & drinking fine, so just needed rest. I'm thinking now she might have suffered a shock of some kind.

 

[Eggcessive]

I am so glad that she is doung well and back to normal. Thanks for the update.

 

[bruceha2000]

May not be the same but sounds so similar I might as well post here.

Found one of my 5 year old Black Australorps on the coop floor Thursday morning. She was talking to me (treat time!!!) and seemed bright. Didn't seem like she could stand but in case she was just deciding to lay in the wrong place I moved her to a nestbox on the floor of the feed room. She was still there 2 hours later so I went to pick her up and she tried to get out of the box, more wing balance than anything.

I put her in the broody buster with food and water and she seems to be standing a bit more every day but not much, she goes back down after a couple of minutes. Still bright eyed and alert. Eating and drinking and pooping fine. I didn't feel anything obvious with her legs. I'm guessing she fell or was pushed off the roost Wed night and either sprained or broke something. If she broke a bone, maybe more of a hairline since she can stand??, how long before it would be totally healed?

Thanks.