Road side chicken

[Niltiac]

My dad and I found a hen on the side of the road, it seemed sick so my dad picked it up and we took it home, she won't really open her eyes and when she does open one, we think she's blind because she doesn't react to anything . She is very skinny and won't eat. She also laid an egg the 1st night we picked her up. We got her to drink some water (she was super thirsty) but she has difficulty finding it on her own, any tips on how to get her to eat without force feeding her?

 

[Trish1974]

Poor girl! Have you offered her scrambled eggs? It is a good sign she is drinking. Hopefully a more seasoned member will come along and offer some information on administering electrolytes, or you could type that in the search box and sees what comes up. Tell your dad we said thank you for rescuing her!

 

[CuzChickens]

Hello there, and welcome to Backyard Chickens! Do you have a feed store nearby? Look for some Nutri-Drench, and follow the instructions on the bottle, if you can't find that, the next best thing is some Sav-A-Chick, just mix one packet in with a gallon of water. You can also give her home made electrolytes. Boil a quart of water, mix in half a cup of sugar, and two teaspoons of baking soda, let it cool. But if you can, please get some Nutri-Drench. Good luck with her, and I hope you enjoy BYC as much as I have!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Yes, thank you Dad for being so kind hearted!

Can I figure you don't actually have other chickens? If you do it is important to keep them far away, just in case.

One way to get extra liquids in is by dropping small amounts on the beak. It will roll around into the mouth and she will swallow it, usually. I do this every half hour or so until I see a difference. She may still be too exhausted to eat from her adventure. The electrolyte recipe I use is: 2 cups warm water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 2 tablespoons brown sugar. You can add PolyVi Sol baby vitamins with NO iron to the mix if you have it. The vitamins and probiotics in the products @CuzChickens mentioned could be hugely helpful. I usually hear happy peeps after getting this mix down exhausted, shipped chicks.

Scrambled eggs is a great suggestion. keep it near her so if she gets the energy to try, she can.

Good luck!

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas and ! Pleased you joined our community! Hope your and your dad can nurse that hen back to health. Very nice of you to take care of her! . Best wishes!

 

[Athaid]

Hi, welcome to BYC.
You seem to have received some very good advice already.
Best of luck.

 

[Niltiac]

Still trying to figure out this website lol, thanks for all the replies! We are going to try the water sugar and baking soda mixture and see how she does! Hopefully tomorrow she will eat something. We are keeping her inside away from our other chickens in case she is sick with something

 

[Niltiac]

Update!! Goopy the hen is eating! I think she has sight in her left eye that she has now opened too. Thanks for all the help we will continue to give her lots of electrolytes to get her hydrated

 

[Trish1974]

That's great! Keep us posted!

 

[RodNTN]

Hi and

Glad you joined us! Aww, poor hen! I am glad to hear she is doing better though! Have a wonderful time on here, and best of luck and best wishes!