Here I am again with another chicken issue, apologies! Your advice is just too darn helpful. 
We have another sick hen - she came to us last year in a group of 8 from another yard who was struggling to care for them (all had mites, worms and general poor condition). They have all improved over time and on 18th April their 4+ months in 'flockdown' (indoor confinement due to avian flu) ended at last and they have been roaming their orchard/pasture in the day since then. I was away on a trip and the flock really belongs to my parents - on 27th April my Mum sent me a message to say that this hen "looks great but can't seem to stand".
We are now a week on and her legs still do not work and it seems to me like botulism? I was wondering if perhaps she picked something up in the outdoor space when they got let out, perhaps found some remains of a dead mouse or frog or she dug something up? She is quite alert with great plumage and a lovely bright comb, but she cannot stand and when you put her down she flaps a bit using her wings and head to find her balance. Her wings still seem fine and she is holding her head normally most of the time but occasionally seems a bit dizzy or stargazes briefly for a moment. She has no interest in food and I have been syringe-feeding her critical care formula multiple times a day, which she will swallow with encouragement.
Her droppings are a bright but darkish green, really quite a wild colour, but with the normal white urates and they are soft (but not watery). Despite not eating for some time she is still producing them but her crop seems fairly empty. I can't see any external parasites and they are due worming soon. They are fed layers pellets (free access to mixed grit) but my mum does supplement with table scraps and corn and occasionally, despite my best efforts, bread. The area this hen has been roaming since 18th April is really quite spacious with grass, fruit trees and dirt patches. During their indoor confinement I did often add a multi-vitamin to their water.
I have been picking her up and moving her legs several times a day to keep things moving - if you hold her with her feet on something like a perch then her feet will lightly hold it, but I feel like that is just the muscles contracting as you lower her down, rather than there being a connection from her brain to her feet (not really sure how paralysis works!).
Anyway, after that long tale, I am wondering whether I should give her longer to recover or have her put to sleep? There is little quality of life to be had just sitting there and she doesn't seem to be getting better or worse, but if there is a chance for her to recover and she's not in pain then I am willing to keep caring for her a while of course.
Thanks as always for your great help.
We have another sick hen - she came to us last year in a group of 8 from another yard who was struggling to care for them (all had mites, worms and general poor condition). They have all improved over time and on 18th April their 4+ months in 'flockdown' (indoor confinement due to avian flu) ended at last and they have been roaming their orchard/pasture in the day since then. I was away on a trip and the flock really belongs to my parents - on 27th April my Mum sent me a message to say that this hen "looks great but can't seem to stand".
We are now a week on and her legs still do not work and it seems to me like botulism? I was wondering if perhaps she picked something up in the outdoor space when they got let out, perhaps found some remains of a dead mouse or frog or she dug something up? She is quite alert with great plumage and a lovely bright comb, but she cannot stand and when you put her down she flaps a bit using her wings and head to find her balance. Her wings still seem fine and she is holding her head normally most of the time but occasionally seems a bit dizzy or stargazes briefly for a moment. She has no interest in food and I have been syringe-feeding her critical care formula multiple times a day, which she will swallow with encouragement.
Her droppings are a bright but darkish green, really quite a wild colour, but with the normal white urates and they are soft (but not watery). Despite not eating for some time she is still producing them but her crop seems fairly empty. I can't see any external parasites and they are due worming soon. They are fed layers pellets (free access to mixed grit) but my mum does supplement with table scraps and corn and occasionally, despite my best efforts, bread. The area this hen has been roaming since 18th April is really quite spacious with grass, fruit trees and dirt patches. During their indoor confinement I did often add a multi-vitamin to their water.
I have been picking her up and moving her legs several times a day to keep things moving - if you hold her with her feet on something like a perch then her feet will lightly hold it, but I feel like that is just the muscles contracting as you lower her down, rather than there being a connection from her brain to her feet (not really sure how paralysis works!).
Anyway, after that long tale, I am wondering whether I should give her longer to recover or have her put to sleep? There is little quality of life to be had just sitting there and she doesn't seem to be getting better or worse, but if there is a chance for her to recover and she's not in pain then I am willing to keep caring for her a while of course.
Thanks as always for your great help.
