What would you do?...

[Lokale90]

I posted on here awhile back about my Wyandotte pullet. I ended up finding an avian vet (we were her first chicken patient) somewhat close to me that I took her to. What I had thought was a crooked wing was actually her neck. The injury happened while away & watched by a friend. Since COVID began, money has been pretty tight for me, so I couldn’t afford all of the things she said we could do such as X-rays, laser therapy, etc. While I couldn’t afford the X-ray we were at least able to come to the conclusion that a traumatic injury had happened such as a fall or maybe she got her neck stuck in something. The vet tried to stretch us out & it is not possible with her injury & possibly how it healed. This all happened when my girl was maybe a month old, maybe 2 (she’s 4 months old now). I let the vet know that while I would be heartbroken putting her down, I don’t want to keep her alive for my own sake if she’s in pain. This injury also limits her quality of life since it has happened. I say this only by assumption considering everything is much more difficult for her to do than it is for other chickens. Her neck is basically stuck in a way that keeps it limited to one side. She can’t turn it & it can only move enough to reach part of wing right behind where her head is. Her balance is obviously not very good & she can’t move too fast or else she’ll start to stumble/lose her balance (especially if the ground isn’t even), she’s able to peck at the ground like the others but it’s much more difficult. I notice she stakes while standing sometimes & while bent over trying to reach/peck. I try to keep at least one water & feeder at her level since she can’t drink from anything where she may have to angle her head up. She can bend over as I mentioned but it takes more work & in order to balance as she leans down, she has to prop a foot on the bowl, so I try to make what I can easier. She doesn’t seem like she can fly but can at least flap her wings. I have her & the 5 others I got at the same time in a different coop from my older hens but they do all free range together during the day. The new coop has a roost that doesn’t require a hop up onto it like the bigger coop does which I don’t think she’d be able to do. She has a difficult time going down their coop ramp I’ve noticed & am considering some sort of guard rail. She does wander a bit with her group but there are times I have found her sitting in the small run area connected to her coop, alone. The first time I saw this, it absolutely broke my heart. While the others are enjoying life & getting more comfortable exploring further out with the older hens & just being chickens, she can’t do everything they can. I don’t think she has the same energy as them being she has to work 10x harder than everyone else to do the simple things we all take for granted. The vet sent me home with a 5 day supply of pain killers & that was that. I tried calling back with questions like what was I supposed to do after the 5 days were up & no one got back to me. Seeing her all alone the other day made me so sad & angry that my sweet girl doesn’t get to enjoy life the same & the quality of it has been taken from her. I don’t care if she looks funny. I could care less if she ever lays an egg. All I want is for her to be okay. I don’t want her to have to live in pain. The vet wasn’t very clear on what she thought about her pain level but I can’t imagine anyone would be very comfortable with their neck stuck the way it is. Also, I assume she must be in pain if the vet sent us home with the 5 day supply of meloxicam. I’m just looking for some advice on what you would do if she was your chicken & you can’t afford surgery. The vet didn’t make it sound like this was really something that could be fixed with surgery even if I could afford it. I love her but if this sounds like she’s being kept alive to suffer please tell me. I’m having a hard time with this decision & looking for some guidance.



I will post her vet pics along with her out with the chickens during the day & a video showing her shakiness, some coordination & just roaming with the other 5 if it’ll let me on here .. okay so I posted a video but it doesn’t seem to play them on my end. If that’s the case can you let me know if it is the same for you as well & what I can do to post a video that actually plays on here rather than just seem like another still image.

 

[arwoon]

I posted on here awhile back about my Wyandotte pullet. I ended up finding an avian vet (we were her first chicken patient) somewhat close to me that I took her to. What I had thought was a crooked wing was actually her neck. The injury happened while away & watched by a friend. Since COVID began, money has been pretty tight for me, so I couldn’t afford all of the things she said we could do such as X-rays, laser therapy, etc. While I couldn’t afford the X-ray we were at least able to come to the conclusion that a traumatic injury had happened such as a fall or maybe she got her neck stuck in something. The vet tried to stretch us out & it is not possible with her injury & possibly how it healed. This all happened when my girl was maybe a month old, maybe 2 (she’s 4 months old now). I let the vet know that while I would be heartbroken putting her down, I don’t want to keep her alive for my own sake if she’s in pain. This injury also limits her quality of life since it has happened. I say this only by assumption considering everything is much more difficult for her to do than it is for other chickens. Her neck is basically stuck in a way that keeps it limited to one side. She can’t turn it & it can only move enough to reach part of wing right behind where her head is. Her balance is obviously not very good & she can’t move too fast or else she’ll start to stumble/lose her balance (especially if the ground isn’t even), she’s able to peck at the ground like the others but it’s much more difficult. I notice she stakes while standing sometimes & while bent over trying to reach/peck. I try to keep at least one water & feeder at her level since she can’t drink from anything where she may have to angle her head up. She can bend over as I mentioned but it takes more work & in order to balance as she leans down, she has to prop a foot on the bowl, so I try to make what I can easier. She doesn’t seem like she can fly but can at least flap her wings. I have her & the 5 others I got at the same time in a different coop from my older hens but they do all free range together during the day. The new coop has a roost that doesn’t require a hop up onto it like the bigger coop does which I don’t think she’d be able to do. She has a difficult time going down their coop ramp I’ve noticed & am considering some sort of guard rail. She does wander a bit with her group but there are times I have found her sitting in the small run area connected to her coop, alone. The first time I saw this, it absolutely broke my heart. While the others are enjoying life & getting more comfortable exploring further out with the older hens & just being chickens, she can’t do everything they can. I don’t think she has the same energy as them being she has to work 10x harder than everyone else to do the simple things we all take for granted. The vet sent me home with a 5 day supply of pain killers & that was that. I tried calling back with questions like what was I supposed to do after the 5 days were up & no one got back to me. Seeing her all alone the other day made me so sad & angry that my sweet girl doesn’t get to enjoy life the same & the quality of it has been taken from her. I don’t care if she looks funny. I could care less if she ever lays an egg. All I want is for her to be okay. I don’t want her to have to live in pain. The vet wasn’t very clear on what she thought about her pain level but I can’t imagine anyone would be very comfortable with their neck stuck the way it is. Also, I assume she must be in pain if the vet sent us home with the 5 day supply of meloxicam. I’m just looking for some advice on what you would do if she was your chicken & you can’t afford surgery. The vet didn’t make it sound like this was really something that could be fixed with surgery even if I could afford it. I love her but if this sounds like she’s being kept alive to suffer please tell me. I’m having a hard time with this decision & looking for some guidance.



I will post her vet pics along with her out with the chickens during the day & a video showing her shakiness, some coordination & just roaming with the other 5 if it’ll let me on here .. okay so I posted a video but it doesn’t seem to play them on my end. If that’s the case can you let me know if it is the same for you as well & what I can do to post a video that actually plays on here rather than just seem like another still image.View attachment 2575403

So sorry! I hope people will be here soon! You said she can not angle her head up or peck at things on the ground?

 

[Lokale90]

So sorry! I hope people will be here soon! You said she can not angle her head up or peck at things on the ground?

She’s able to peck but because her balance is off & she can’t put her head straight down like a chicken with a normal neck can it’s a little more difficult for her. I try to make things easier for her by giving her access to at least one feeder & waterer that are leveled with where her head is stuck. She does still peck at the ground with the others but has a harder time than them. I used to keep a smaller cage (think large hamster) in their run with them that she liked to sit in while everyone else was out exploring & I would just drop a nice little pile of food in there for her so she could peck at it while she was sitting in there. She can still fit in it but it’s getting more difficult as she continues to grow & I’m trying to encourage her not to just keep herself confined to it & explore (maybe that’s the wrong thing for me to do?)
But yes, in the pics the way her head is positioned, it is pretty much stuck in that position. The only thing she can do is slightly turn it away from her body, reaching the front of her wing on that side.

 

[arwoon]

She’s able to peck but because her balance is off & she can’t put her head straight down like a chicken with a normal neck can it’s a little more difficult for her. I try to make things easier for her by giving her access to at least one feeder & waterer that are leveled with where her head is stuck. She does still peck at the ground with the others but has a harder time than them. I used to keep a smaller cage (think large hamster) in their run with them that she liked to sit in while everyone else was out exploring & I would just drop a nice little pile of food in there for her so she could peck at it while she was sitting in there. She can still fit in it but it’s getting more difficult as she continues to grow & I’m trying to encourage her not to just keep herself confined to it & explore (maybe that’s the wrong thing for me to do?)
But yes, in the pics the way her head is positioned, it is pretty much stuck in that position. The only thing she can do is slightly turn it away from her body, reaching the front of her wing on that side.

Is she in pain? If not I think you should let her continue to fight. If she cannot angle her head up however, she will not be able to properly drink.

 

[arwoon]

Is she in pain? If not I think you should let her continue to fight. If she cannot angle her head up however, she will not be able to properly drink.

Let me add, I don't think it is necessary to cull, just make sure she has access to everything she needs

 

[Lokale90]

Is she in pain? If not I think you should let her continue to fight. If she cannot angle her head up however, she will not be able to properly drink.

She can drink but she can’t if it’s from a source that is above her head like the nipples you put at the bottom of a bucket. I keep a water leveled to her for ease but she can also drink if it is lower as well. It’s just a little more difficult for her because she can’t just lower her head straight down like the rest of them, so she has to balance herself first. I’m not 100% sure if she’s in pain but I just can’t imagine being stuck the way she is, is very comfortable. Plus, the vet sent us home with a 5 day supply of meloxicam so I assume she must have thought there was at least some level of pain or else she wouldn’t have prescribed it. She never got back to me after multiple attempts about long term pain management after the 5 days were up though, so she left me with a lot of unanswered questions up in the air

 

[ChicNmom]

One of my first chickens had some sort of neurological and vision problem. She couldn't figure out how to fly onto the roost so we built a ramp. Sometimes she would be with the group. Other times she would go off and sit and stare into space. She still had a good quality of life until she had a big stroke and died.

I would be most concerned about her being able to eat, drink and breathe OK

As far as the pain she will probably adapt and get used to being that way.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Thinking the Vet really wasn't sure what to do, giving the pain meds was "something" as you were concerned about her being in pain. Baby aspirin helps with pain for future info. The injury happened a while back is healed and I'm no Vet so no clue as if surgery would help here. Amazed that she can get food down to her crop with that "kink".

If she's been fine all this time, eating/drinking on her own, not being picked on by the flock ... I'd let her be. IF she were in any pain, she wouldn't be eating & off by herself. At this point, I'd let her be ... skip the pain meds. You may want to moisten her feed (if feeding pellets/crumbles) with water, making like a mash ... maybe easier for her & you know she's getting water. Check her weight weekly or every 2wks, to check her weight.

If she's unable to feed herself, you may consider rehoming her to someone that has the time for "special needs" chicken. If you decided to euthanize her, you have my support. We can help with option but the decision is only yours to make

 

[Lokale90]

One of my first chickens had some sort of neurological and vision problem. She couldn't figure out how to fly onto the roost so we built a ramp. Sometimes she would be with the group. Other times she would go off and sit and stare into space. She still had a good quality of life until she had a big stroke and died.

I would be most concerned about her being able to eat, drink and breathe OK

She can eat & drink okay. As far as I know she breathes okay too but sometimes seems a little more labored than the rest. She didn’t have the neck issue when I first got her or before I left out of town. She got injured at some point while I was gone after she was a month or 2 old.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

If she hasn’t acted much different after coming off the medication she probably isn’t in a whole lot of pain. She’s young it might heal up some but I don’t think it will ever heal completely. You could do some price shopping on the
x-ray with other vets in the area to find out just what is going on. Just call and ask how much they would charge to x-ray a chicken.