Upside-down chicken

[Trampledbygeese]

I've been having trouble with one of my hens since yesterday morning and I was wondering if anyone here might give me some tips as to what's up with her.

She constantly keeps falling on her back and cannot get up again. When she does get upright, she can sometimes manage to take one or two steps again before she falls over, back onto her back again. The end of her left wing is very bruised and slightly scratched, which makes me think she might have been attacked by a predator. Both her legs seem to move all right, though she keeps her left wing close to her body and won't use it for balance.

I have her isolated because the other hens were picking on her. She is eating and drinking just fine and seems to have a huge craving for oyster shells. I give her a handful of shells and she just gobbles them up like they were scratch. She even laid an egg this morning but her balance has gotten worse since yesterday.

Nothing but her wing appears to give her pain, except that she just cannot stay upright for more than a few seconds. She is also very frightened and easily startled.
Any thoughts as to what might be wrong with her? Anything I can do to speed her recovery?
Thanks in advance

 

[Miss Lydia]

if you think she could have had a run in with a predator she is most likely she in shock. Try to keep her quiet and treat her wounds with some form of antibiotic salve or spray w/o pain relief give her time she most likely will recover. You did the right thing by seperating her.

 

[jaimslee4u]

I agree - keep her isolated, quiet, & warm. Offer her plenty of water, food, & some special yummy's to make her feel better.

 

[Trampledbygeese]

Thanks. I'll do that.

I hope that is only shock. When should I start to worry if she doesn't improve?

 

[jaimslee4u]

Keep an eye on her and watch for new syptoms. If it was a predator and she is in shock you will probably see some improvement in the morning. Make sure she stays hydrated and offer scrambled eggs or yogurt for breakfast. That usually perks them up a bit.

 

[Trampledbygeese]

She's drinking lots of water and eating most of the food I give her. I have been mashing up a boiled egg for her and she seems to enjoy it. She's really keen on the shell (most of my hens prefer the yolk). In fact, she's eaten at least 5 handfuls of oyster shells since she started toppling over.

Which reminds me, I wanted to ask is it possible for a hen to have too many oyster shells?

The flock has constant access to oyster shells and I often toss some in with the scratch for good measure. So it's not like it's new to her. I think I might put some vitamins the water tomorrow to see if that helps.

 

[Trampledbygeese]

So today she is wobbling even worse than the last two days. She runs around like she is drunk - one step, fall over on her back, struggle to get up, takes two or three steps, falls over. It would be really funny if she wasn't my hen and if it wasn't day three of this.

Her head is slightly tilted (about 30 degrees) to one side today where before she kept it upright and she seems to prefer to use one eye over the other.

She did have a bit of trouble with depth yesterday (missing the water dish about half the time when trying to drink).

Any thoughts as to what else I can do for her?