The New Flock 2021: Back to Basics

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I think he can see okay, not sure how I would assess that further. He often cocks his head up to look at me, something he just began doing again.

I usually move my finger towards an eye and see if they blink or react. Had a few blind chickens over the years. The pupils sometimes don't react as well. Sometimes when the sight is compromised they do weird behaviors.

 

[speckledhen]

He can see to pick up individual grains so I think it's not likely he has much of a vision issue, thankfully. It's certainly possible, of course.

 

[1muttsfan]

It was a good thought.

 

[speckledhen]

It was a good thought.

It was! I can check him out tomorrow. It is certainly a thought, considering that this has affected him in such weird ways and I appreciate all input from the kind and very experienced folks on our little Atlas club. It just occurred to me that I was watching him today and he went after the dried larvae, specifically, his favorite food. I sure hope his eyesight is not compromised. The poor boy has enough problems as it is. The Tiny Terrorist's personality was shaped by her lack of good vision, IMO. She had to have her food piled up so she could just dive in, but she never caught a bug on the ground or picked up any individual grains on purpose.

 

[speckledhen]

I checked Bodie today, as much as he'd allow without flailing around. His right eye is fine. The left appears okay, though that is on the downside of his head tilt and rarely visible unless I pick him up. He is definitely seeing small objects enough to pick them up so I would say that, thankfully, his sight doesn't seem to be affected, at least on that right side. Even if it was, there would be nothing to do about it. He would have to go the way of Luna not long ago who went blind after an eye injury and could not see to eat or drink anymore.
He has the oddest symptom of weakness on his left side, veers that way when he walks and falls down if he tries to run, sort of skids on that side, and yet, he keeps picking up his right leg and touching it back down as if it hurts, but he needs it for balance when he gets tired of standing. I guess I need to just quit trying to categorize/analyze his current condition. He can eat and drink and talks to his former coop mates, enjoys the sun, etc, even doing the barest beginning of a dance toward a hen.
Cricket seems to FINALLY be coming off her 3 month long broody mood. She was outside on her own most of the time her group was out and I think she'll be completely broken up by the time my eggs start to hatch, or maybe even tomorrow....good thing, that, because my husband just said the only way to snap her out of it is to give her a chick. Um, NO! I have enough work to just take care of the chicks in the brooder, along with everything else happening around here, and I do not want to have a broody with a baby added to my list of chores or peeps to watch out for, nope.

 

[speckledhen]

Update on the ailing. I think I said that Juliette was surely going to die. She had zero meat on her keel, was a walking skeleton, stumbling and staggering around, no balance, sunken in eyes, was pooping out yellow yolk-looking stuff on the ground, etc. Well, I guess I lied, unintentionally, because she seems to be coming back! She is energetic, her balance has returned (she can sure get away from me without a problem), she is bossing others hens around, even big Shelby. I did nothing to treat her, same as always, but this time, she seems to be made of stronger stuff than I realized. Could be she will succumb to whatever caused it, but she may just be one of the rare who recovers on her own, albeit maybe temporarily. Holding out hope that she will come back into production soon!
Now, speaking of Shelby, I found one of the roosters pecking at an egg out in the pen, shooed him away and found a brittle shelled egg from Shelby, easily recognizable. Thought maybe it was a glitch. Well, yesterday, Shelby was sitting in the bottom nest box, no egg after she was gone, but I found the shavings all dug through and then, later, Rayna was picking around in it, felt a damp spot, so I think Shelby produced another brittle egg which likely broke in the nest, an ominous portent of things to come after losing Ripley and Scarlett to egg issues and after that, Juliette's egg problem. The Dirty Dozen Plus One (minus the aforementioned now late hens) are 4 years old this week, time has flown by so fast.

 

[speckledhen]

We did morning chores and Bodie was his new normal. Later, I was going to take him outside and put him in the dog kennel so he could see his former flock out and about, he was laying in front of his pen door. I spoke to him and I thought he was cocking his head up to look at me, but he couldn't control it, it was locked in a twisted up position with his right eye looking upwards. I went in and picked him up, he couldn't put his head forward. I took him toward the barn door and realized he was on no shape to go outside. I took the Vetericyn Opthalmic gel that we began using yesterday for his right eye because it appeared swollen and he was rubbing it back onto his shoulder. I saw no injuries to the eye, not sure what was causing it, though I have a theory now.
When i put him back in his pen, he almost flipped on his back. He had no control of his head though I could see he was trying and becoming frustrated. I called my husband to see what was happening. It was obvious that he could not eat or drink in that condition so we made the ultimate decision for him and he has now gone to that Great Roost in the Sky.
My theory about his swollen eye (no discharge) is that his brain was swelling, putting pressure on it. I think I heard that West Nile may cause encephalitis. Seems that was the cause of all his recent issues ever since the end of October. Poor Bodie, he fought so hard and seemed to be coming back to us slowly, though I felt he was at the end of his improvement. He was one of the best flock leaders I've ever seen, bless his sweet heart.
So, sweet Bodie isn't suffering any longer and I have the pen for the Omega Rock cockerels if need be. Things seem to work out in due time, though I would have taken care of Bodie for the rest of his life if he seemed to have any enjoyment of it.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Poor Bodie put up a good fight. He lived a good life. I'm glad he can rest now.

 

[1muttsfan]

I'm sure it must have been very difficult for him to not be able to be a normal chicken. So hard to say goodbye though.

 

[speckledhen]

I'm sure it must have been very difficult for him to not be able to be a normal chicken. So hard to say goodbye though.

It was hard for him, I could see it; we did the best we could to make him still feel part of his flock, but this? There was no choice. When I called my husband to the barn and showed him Bodie's decline, he knew there was no getting around it. Until then, Bodie was getting along pretty well for the damage done to him. It's always hard to lose my roosters, especially those who have been great leaders. Mary, thank you for your input in suggesting his issue from those symptoms. I'd likely never have thought of it otherwise. When I realized his eye was likely caused by internal swelling and pressure, I knew more than ever that you were right. Now, I know a lot more than I did about how West Nile can affect chickens. I wish mosquitoes were something we could avoid entirely, but I think it was what killed Axel as well because it happened pretty much right before I noticed Bodie's strange behavior. We do toss their outside water bowl when we see the larvae wiggling around in it, but I've even seen those in their waterers inside the barn on rare occasion. Thankfully, our entire property drains very well and is not conducive to puddles of standing water, but you can't avoid it entirely. Mosquitoes are opportunists as we all know.

Thank you, too, Lisa.