Sick Hen :(

[sydneymarie]

Yesterday morning I saw one of my hens was staying in the corner of the coop when I let everyone out. I figured maybe she decided to lay an egg on the floor of the coop so I wasn’t going to mess with her then and I gave her about a half hour to herself. I went back to check and sure enough she hadn’t moved, so I took her out of the coop. She hobbled over to where everyone was eating and I could tell she was having trouble keeping her balance. I decided to put her in my bathtub with some towels, food, water and a heating pad. I did notice some bloody feathers on her neck and thought that might be the cause, but I don’t think that’s the case as it was a very small injury. Since then she’s had some watery poops, laid in the same spot and ate some food and drank some water but the poor thing still can’t keep her balance and face planted into her food dish last night. Today she stood for most of the day in the same place, and just now finally had a normal looking poop (and a lot of it). It doesn’t smell good but it’s not rotten smelling or anything. I checked for a bound egg and couldn’t feel anything, so I’m at a loss for what could be wrong with my hen. Her comb and wattles are red, and her eyes look normal. I don’t really have the funds to take her to a vet, I just don’t want her to suffer much longer if someone has experienced this and possibly knows what it could be.

 

[sydneymarie]

How old is she?
Do you know when she last laid an egg?
Was she vaccinated for Marek's Disease? (This is done in vitro or as a newly hatched chick at the hatchery but only if you requested it and paid an additional fee when ordering chicks... Birds obtained from any other source are unlikely to have been vaccinated)
My guess would be that the injury is as a result of pecking. It may be that her flock mates turned on her in the coop that morning when they realised she was unwell.

She’s about a year old... in the two days she’s been in my tub she has not laid an egg. I did check to see if she was blocked up but couldn’t feel an egg. I’m going to assume she was not vaccinated since we got them all from tractor supply. I’ve dealt with an injured bullied hen before so I’m sure that’s where her neck injury came from but I don’t think that’s causing her loss of balance.
She did look a little bit more alert today, however she still can’t walk.

 

[kendallj]

I’m sorry hope she’s ok

 

[Perris]

Hi @sydneymarie - welcome to BYC albeit under sad circumstances. I'll flag some people who know a lot about chicken illnesses and hopefully they'll be able to help; @aart @rebrascora @dawg53 @Ridgerunner do you recognize these symptoms?

 

[dawg53]

It sounds like she got beat up by the other chickens while inside the coop. She must be at the bottom of the pecking order. There's a pecking order when it comes to roosting for the night as well.
If you can extend or expand the roost, increase space inside the coop somehow, this should eliminate the pecking and picking that's going on.
In the meantime, provide your hen comfort care like your doing. You can give her Poultry Nutri Drench, one drop orally twice a day for no more than 5 days to help her regain strength and help build up her immune system.

 

[rebrascora]

How old is she?
Do you know when she last laid an egg?
Was she vaccinated for Marek's Disease? (This is done in vitro or as a newly hatched chick at the hatchery but only if you requested it and paid an additional fee when ordering chicks... Birds obtained from any other source are unlikely to have been vaccinated)
My guess would be that the injury is as a result of pecking. It may be that her flock mates turned on her in the coop that morning when they realised she was unwell.

 

[Kiki]

She’s about a year old... in the two days she’s been in my tub she has not laid an egg. I did check to see if she was blocked up but couldn’t feel an egg. I’m going to assume she was not vaccinated since we got them all from tractor supply. I’ve dealt with an injured bullied hen before so I’m sure that’s where her neck injury came from but I don’t think that’s causing her loss of balance.
She did look a little bit more alert today, however she still can’t walk.

If she was bullied away from feed it will do her good to get some extra vitamins into her asap.