****Update pg 5 for 10 week old pullet head injury, she is gone***

[hawtchick]

Just an update.
She made it through the night so this is the second night.
When I gave her the sugar water and electrolytes, she seems to be a little annoyed with me for trying to give her fluids.
Maybe it's wishful thinking.... Eyes are still closed and she is not trying to stand or anything.
I will keep updating......
Thanks all!!

 

[Chickie Mamma]

She is tough!!

I really hope she pulls through! Has the swelling gone down at all? If she is showing a little resistance, its a good sign I think. Good Luck!!

 

[hawtchick]

Quote:
No, the eye injury still looks swollen. I am wondering if I should treat with terramycian or just wait longer for now...... I am not good at all this waiting.

 

[dlhunicorn]

If this is due to injury (which I suspect from what you have written) then antibiotics are not going to help... anything that increases her stress will be life threatening so patience is the key here. Any medicament that would be effective at this type of injury/swelling would need to be admin under veterinary supervision ...wait it out a few more days and see if if the general support measures dont help.
You can get some baby parrot/bird formula (sold in pet stores as a dry powder you mix with water) ... if she still hasnt recovered enough to eat herself this evening then mix up some of that with some of her feed (no grains) and put a wee bit in her beak to encourage to her eat...
Remember no stress and keep dribbling the electrolyte water along her beak.

 

[hawtchick]

Quote:
The only reason I wondered about the terramycian was b/c of her swollen eye. I guess I am just worried about it being infected or getting infected. It's just oozy at this point.
She really has little interest in drinking. I did try mixing some plain yogurt with her electrolytes this morning before I read about the parrot formula.
I will try that too.
I will keep in keeping on.

 

[NancyBrew]

I am so sorry about your hen...I am wondering if the brick hit her and she flopped over to the other corner in some sort of flight response. I am not sure she is comatose if she attempts to drink the water even if you place her beak in it, she is not. Swallowing is mostly an active response and our brains must be fairly conscious to swallow.

Does she respond to you when you touch her or speak to her? Does she make any sounds? Do her eyes move or flicker when you touch or speak to her?

Since her one eye is swollen it may be a good idea to have a look at them and I would put in some regular saline eyedrops or the terramycin ointment. Just in cause there is an infection in her eye.. Does she blink when you put in the drops or ointment?

One way we tell about head injuries in people is to look at their pupils. Pupils should be the same size, larger in the dark and smaller in bright light. So comparing their size will tell you something about her eye condition and neurlogical status. So open them in a slightly dim room and have someone pass a bright flashlight over them. If she is impaired one or both of the pupils will not react. A blown or fully dilated pupil or pupils that are unequal is a bad sign. See if they react in the same way. This process if she is comatose will have no effect on her. She will not squirm or try to get away. If she gets a bit irate having light shined that is a better sign.

Also try to push on her largest toenail at the point where is joins her skin, does she react at all? You must push hard. Neurologists/Neurosurgeons commonly knuckle breastbones or pinch nipples to see if those in coma react to painful or noxious stimuli, the alterante is pushing on a nail bed. Response to painful/noxious stimuli is one of the last senses to go, and the first to come back. Does she move in any particular way when you do this?

I know this may sound mean to some of you, but assessing her pupils and reaction to pain will tell us a bit more. If she is truley comatose, this will have no effect on her whatsoever or harm her chances of survival. She could have just a concussion or eye area skull fracure and be in there, but just in pain, and moving very little because of the pain. Does the area around her eye feel swollen, or can our feel bones under her skin that feel irrregular? Does she complain at all if you gently probe that swelling?

Good luck and let us know what you find and how she is...

Nancy

 

[hawtchick]

Quote:
Thanks Nancy,

She does respond to me, sort of. She doesn't make ANY sound, but will move her head away from me when I try to give her the fluids in the dropper.
She moves her head more today, but is drinking alot less. She is mostly letting it leaks back out of her beak or it's not getting in there.

I did try to loosen her good eye, since it had gotten stuck probably from lack of use.
She was not happy about that, and will not keep it open, but when I try to work on the other eye, cleaning the wound and medicating it, she doesn't respond.
I did see her eye beneath the wound, but the swelling is worse now I think.

She did get mad at me at first when I tried to medicate the swelling, but then that stopped.

She is still pooping and I have to keep cleaning it off of her b/c she can't/wont stand or move .

Her legs do respond and will hold her wait until I let go then she slowly goes back back.

It's so sad.....I don't know what else to do but sit and wait and continue to hydrate and pray she will take in some kind of nourishment.
Thank you very much.

Jess

 

[jjthink]

Jess, just checking in to let you know I am thinking a lot about you and your poor little girl, and hoping she improves. I know how awful it must be to not know what will come of it.

A completely different situation but in the mid 90s I had 2 roos show up out of nowhere - they were the best of friends - beautiful to watch really. I had no chicken accommodations back then so was searching for homes for them, though I set up my garage to be their nighttime camp. Then we had a sudden horrifically bad snow/ice storm and something snapped in them and they had a terrible fight. There was blood everywhere. I found one of them stuck to the ice, barely alive it seemed. I brought him in the house, kept him in a quiet comfy place with very soft low volume classical music playing just for him. Everywhere I called for advice said to eat him, that he was toast anyway. I did not! That poor fellow did not move, eat or drink for 7 days (if I knew what I know now I would have gotten fluids into him somehow). On day 7 he stood. Long story short, he got better every day after that and made a full recovery. I still remember the first time he crowed after that, marking his true return to the land of the living. Not the same situation as your girl, because I don't think he sustained a head injury, and I think yours likely did. I only mention it because sometimes these beings pull off amazing recoveries.

I just hope she is not in awful pain. I am wondering if at least some pain relief may be in order here in the form of the aspirin diluted in water. It is also an antiinflammatory and since she's got some swelling..... If internal bleeding, it would be a bad thing. If not, maybe it would help her. Anybody want to comment on this?
JJ

 

[hawtchick]

Quote:
I wonder if she had internal bleeding if I would see it when she poo's or if she would be gone already.

She isn't taking any fluids now. her eye looks worse.
I am going to trying crushed up asprin with her sugar water electrolyte concoction.

 

[hawtchick]

JJ, thanks for checking on her.

I just went through a nursing back to health 3 months ago with our rooster.
that went well, so I am trying to remain hopeful.