What's wrong with my hen

[litlbit59]

It’s been about a week since I found my hen with a pretty nasty wound on her back. I
don’t know what started it but the other hens were clearly picking on her. 1st thing we did
was flushed it with peroxide and I applied some bacitracin. After that I used a cleansing
wash and no ointment because there has been no sign of infection. She’s been sleeping in
a cage in the garage and every day we carry the cage to a part of the yard separate from
the other hens and open it up but she can’t seem to move around. When she does she just
kind of flops around to get a foot or 2.
I've been giving her worms and she gobbles them up but not eating very much of her regular feed. To make sure she hydrated I give her diluted milk a few times a day and she drinks plenty of that.But I don't understand why she can't get around and up on her feet. Any ideas. Thanks Karen

 

[Judy]

There could be any number of things wrong, but I would stop the milk and give water, because chickens are lactose intolerant. You could add vitamins, ACV or probiotics to it if you wish, although if I did that, I would also offer plain, fresh water. You could try a systemic antibiotic in case there is an infection, perhaps in the gut or in a hip joint, but that is a shot in the dark, somthing many would do and many others would not. Many others would probably try nutritious and favorite foods to encourage her to eat, such as scrambled egg. She may just need rest and time. At least it's a good sign that she is eating and drinking, even if it doesn't seem like enough.