Post injury apparent sightlessness and loss of hearing in my 15 mo old

[trillers mama]

One of my two hens was decapitated about 10 days ago. The survivor I kept penned although they had free ranged daily since old enough. On the second day I found my Buttermilk hunkering on the ground with closed eyes, open mouth and ants on her. She is usually the roost bar buddy. After consult with a wildlife rehabilitator I began her on antibiotic and tube feedings as she would not even attempt to eat. She slowly improved and is still getting stronger at 10 day mark but would not even try to eat on her own. Both my chicks came when I called and were often hand fed, petted and picked up. Today I put water in a cup to the end of her beak and she drank, but did not seem to be able to find the water on her own. I passed my hand in front of her face from different angles and she seems to be sightless. Later I clapped my hands and she will startle if the wind from the clap is felt, but does not seem to otherwise respond to the noise and she was always the skittish one with sounds. I took her outside into a fenced yard and she walked only a little, pecked 2 or 3 times then roosted on the ground, She loves raw eggs and knows what they look like with yolk unbroken in a tiny bowl, so I put a whole one in front of her face this evening and got no reaction. When I manuvered it under her beak, she was interested and ate at intervals when I would place it at the tip of her beak. But she did not even consume the whole yolk when she stopped and put her head under my arm and quieted herself.She cuddles and is loving all the attention but this is not her normal behavior. Any ideas? She had a bloody spot on the left top of her head when I found her so sick last week. No further bleeding or current sign of infection. How does one rehabilitate a sightless, deaf chicken who has no desire to peck/eat? THANKS, Trillers Mama
PS Any ideas on what might have gotten her sister and tried to get her?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Awww, I am so very sorry for the loss of the first hen, and the condition of this second one. It could have been a raccoon who hurt them, they'll often eat just the heads. It's remarkable you got the second one to survive this long after such an injury. Now you'll have to decide what quality of life this hen will have in her condition, and how much continued care you will be able to give her. A deaf/blind chicken will certainly be extremely vulnerable to predators, and attractive to them too. I think she'll have to be hand-fed for the rest of her life. Chickens don't have a sense of smell to guide them to their food & water.

Perhaps you should consult some more with the wildlife rehabber. If they don't have any more suggestions for how to help this deaf/blind hen, they may have help for humanely euthanizing her. I'm sorry.

Before you add any more chickens to your flock you should figure out how the predator got to these hens to injure them, and how to prevent further such incidents.

I hope the community here can help you.

 

[trillers mama]

Thanks for your contact and kind words. My babies were in a secure roosting cage at night and patrolled my yard and the neighbors to either side all day. The attack happened between 6 and 6:30 AM in my yard next to the house (up on blocks so could have been something hiding underneath the house). Since Hi Rise was not eaten except for her head being gone, we tend to think possum, skunk (having trapped several of each in years past but no signs of them this year except this attack) or raccoon (never have seen or trapped any), or maybe even the horribly agressive local stray cat who recently tore open my cat's face??? We have a couple of huge owls in the area and chicken hawks too.

Buttermilk has gotten so snuggly-cuddly over all this but when I finally figured out she was not seeing or hearing I have a feeling we are both trapped at the moment enjoying this time of NOW in a different way than before. I did not know that chickens had no sense of smell. Mine sure like a particular brand of cat nuggets so it must have been the taste. What about pecking? Must they peck to eat? Buttermilk will NOT take anything solid and is taking such small amounts of fluids voluntarily. Her stools are returning to normal. I am a nurse so have the technical skills to do what has been done so far and fully realize that intermittent tube feeds or a mere teaspoon when a tablespoon of mush is needed would not sustain her. I guess we will just try a while longer and see if the sight and hearing might return or improve. I guess I am still in shock after enjoying these friends and their eggs for over a year. She does not seem to be in pain and responds so very well to the loving attention I feel we have been given some quality time opportunity.

Thanks to anyone who would have any ideas or input.

 

[Sillystunt]

oh, that is soooo sad

She will probally need to be hand feed and given water by hand as well.....
Don't give up on her! Get a diaper and bring her inside. Make her an indoor chicken

the only other thing to do is cull her. She will be prone to attacks from predators and other chickens. they peck the week and sick.
I am so sorry about your hens

 

[Sunny Side Up]

There is a wide spectrum of personal opinion as to how far to go in caring for a chicken, and what criteria to use for culling. And I think they're all valid, depending on the individual person's ability & willingness to spend time with their bird.

The fact is that unless this bird regains some of her senses she'll need to be kept rather closely confined indoors. She'd be much too vulnerable to predators outdoors, and would lack the ability to move around much on her own, she'd keep stumbling over & bumping into things.

But as long as your hen isn't showing signs of pain or distress, and you're willing & able to keep her fed & clean, then keep her with you as long as you can. I think your wildlife rehabber could advise you best, they must have encountered similar situations before. I don't know, perhaps a deaf/blind bird can find other ways to compensate and get around. We have a duck who seems almost completely blind, yet she keeps fairly close to her flockmates, stays fed & watered free-ranging the yard, and keeps out of trouble. She doesn't lay eggs, but my boys love her best, because she's the only one who can't run away from them, and allows herself to be picked up.

I'd say to just watch for signs of stress or shock, loss of appetite, loss of weight & strength, poor health as evidenced by sickly discharges/poop. She may be enjoying your touch, being held, being taken out into the fresh air & sunshine. She might enjoy being placed in a dirt pile to take a dust bath, once her wounds have healed.

I wish you both the very best.

 

[threehorses]

Before you make the decision to cull, I'd test her eyes to see if they're responsive to light. Use a flashlight or pen light and shine it in her eyes. Her pupils should contract. Remove the light; her pupils should expand. If you're not seeing any reaction, then it's possible she either has a disease or a neurological issue that caused her to lose her vision function. Then at least you'll know that for sure.

If they still react, personally I would baby her for a week while giving her a strong regimine of vitamin A (within reason) and multivitamins.

There are A, D, E vitamin packages for poultry available, but I don't often see them here at our feedstores. But call your feedstore and ask if they have a powdered ADE vitamin. Alternately, you could try a couple of drops of cod liver oil in a quickly eaten damp mash (some crumbles and *cooked* egg, boiled is great) - just a tiny enough amount where you can give it to her directly and see her eat it within a minute or so. Alternately, you could try polyvisol vitamins for babies at a rate of 2 drops in the beak daily for a week. Use the formula that isn't iron-fortified. I found mine at Walmart in the vitamin section. In either case you could also offer a vitamin E (for humans) oil capsule, 400-700 IU again dropped a couple of drops in the beak or with a quickly eaten bit of treat.

Vitamin E is important for neurological healing, vitamin A is important for ocular (and respiratory) health and can be deficient as oil vitamins most easily degrade from foods.

Also make sure the feed she is getting is completely vitamin fortified and age-appropriate. That means a crumble - even during this illness.

I'd also be more apt to let her live if she can learn to eat a little more normally and seems to be vigorous. But at least give her a week of vitamin therapy if you are able to see if it's something that can be fixed.

Also monitor her pupils and eyes for any signs of discoloration; let us know if you see any clouding or changes in the actual shape of the pupil.

I hope this helps some. No matter what decision you make, it sounds as if you'll put a lot of kind thought into it.