Possible stroke?

[nikirushka]

My bluebell has lost the use of her wings and is being slightly off. One wing went a few days ago and I thought it might have been an injury but yesterday the other started to droop as well. If I extend them there is no response as well, they just hang.

Yesterday evening her sight or visual functionality seemed to be affected - I took her some scrambled eggs as I have done the past few nights (with 1/4 aspirin in for the apparent injury) and where she's wolfed them before, this time she squished her head past twice as if wiping her beak then wandered off. I picked her up to look at her wings (this is when I noticed the second one drooping) and put the egg by her. Nothing. But when I offered it, as soon as it was right in front of her beak she wolfed it again. I tried that a few more times and same thing happened - no apparent recognition until it was right in front of her beak.

I'm wondering if she's had a couple of strokes? First taking the one wing then next taking the other and whatever governs visual function? She's slightly livelier today but is still very quiet. Normally she won't have anything to do with me, never mind taking food from my hand!

Any other possibilities? No idea how old she is as she's a regime, but likely to be on the older side.

 

[Eggcessive]

It would be hard to know exactly what is going on with her, but it definitely sounds like she is experiencing neurological symptoms. Something affecting spinal nerves, such as inflammation or pressure, a back injury, Mareks disease, or a stroke could be possibilities. Do her eyes have any color or pupil changes? Is she able to stand and walk? I would try to keep her fed and hydrated to see if she improves over the next couple of days. If not, it might be kind to put her down. You can get a necropsy to look for diseases by your state poultry vet. Sorry about your hen.

 

[ChickNanny13]

 

[TwoCrows]

This definitely sounds neurological of some sort. Stroke is actually common in birds, I've had 2 cases of it over the years. It all depends on which portion of the brain was effected. In humans, it's the right side of the brain that effects eye sight and the processing of visual information. Hitting their heads on things will also cause neurological issues however these usually aren't as permanent as stroke.

In my cases, the first bird became very confused and terrified of everything. Her left side was droopy, she limped on that side as well as hung her left wing. She had a very difficult time making simple decisions. The second bird lost use of her legs. The rest of her was in perfect order. Neither of these birds survived, both dying from heart failure eventually. The first bird actually improved over a few months time but the heart gave out eventually. Same with the second bird. She lived in a basket for quite a long time as I tried to rehab her in a sling. She also improved a lot but her heart gave out as well.

If you think your bird did indeed have a stroke, get her on 1 baby aspirin every day. This will help to stop the stroke from progressing and keep the blood thin so no more thick clots are released from the heart. This will also stop the killer stroke from happening as well. The easiest way to give a baby aspirin is stuff it in a raisin or a blueberry. They have no idea they are being medicated. If she won't take it, you can crush it and put in some apple sauce or baby food and syringe under the tongue.

If she did bump her head badly, she will probably recuperate in a weeks time. The aspirin won't hurt either way.

 

[nikirushka]

I've had her on 1/4 of a 300mg aspirin, is that ok? Her healthy weight is 3kg but she has lost some.

 

[TwoCrows]

Yes, a quarter of an adult aspirin is perfect! I would keep her on that daily for a while. Give it with food too since it won't be enterically coated.

Put your ear over her back where the neck meets the shoulders. Do you hear anything? If she has heart valve troubles you can usually hear the fluttering of the valves. Even some air sac noise sometimes.

 

[TwoCrows]

Also, lots of vitamins daily. Get some Poly Vi Sol liquid (without the iron) and give her 1/4 ml daily. Stoke heals much faster with a good vitamin regiment.

 

[nikirushka]

No improvement at all in her so I'll be sending her on her way shortly. Sometimes she'll eat if I hold her food right in front of her, sometimes not. I've tube fed her twice with baby bird food and it hasn't helped - she had a fair day after the first time moving around a little more, but now she's back to just laying in a nest box and not eating or drinking again.

 

[ChickNanny13]

 

[Kiki]

No improvement at all in her so I'll be sending her on her way shortly. Sometimes she'll eat if I hold her food right in front of her, sometimes not. I've tube fed her twice with baby bird food and it hasn't helped - she had a fair day after the first time moving around a little more, but now she's back to just laying in a nest box and not eating or drinking again.

I am sorry.
If you are interested in finding out an answer I highly recommend having a necropsy performed. I would.
If you are in the US you can find your state lab here:
Necropsy and disease testing lab info