When to return the chicken to the flock?

[megannicole90]

I never figured out what was wrong with my hen, but she is eating softened pellets and it has been 15 or 16 days now since she started acting sick. She is now pooping more now, eating mushy food and drinking without any help and has been a few days. She is walking straight. Her head is still tilted on an angle, but she is acting more normal everyday. What would you look for to say she can be put back in with the rest of the flock?

 

[nuthatched]

Are you also including a vitamin regime? If she's not being picked on, you can put her back in.

 

[Eggcessive]

Be very careful putting her back in the flock since she has been out for so long. When I have a broody hen out of the flock being broken for 5 days, they are usually accepted back with a couple of pecks, but they may attack your hen being gone for 16 days. I would begin some supervised visits to see how it goes. Having neurological symptoms, they may attack her, so be cautious. A wire dog crate with food and water and a cover for shade is a good way to reintroduce a hen who has been sick or gone. A lot depends on pecking order and how many you have.

 

[megannicole90]

Are you also including a vitamin regime? If she's not being picked on, you can put her back in.

No vitamins regime and I don’t think they will pick on her. She is currently separated so I can’t be certain.

 

[megannicole90]

Be very careful putting her back in the flock since she has been out for so long. When I have a broody hen out of the flock being broken for 5 days, they are usually accepted back with a couple of pecks, but they may attack your hen being gone for 16 days. I would begin some supervised visits to see how it goes. Having neurological symptoms, they may attack her, so be cautious. A wire dog crate with food and water and a cover for shade is a good way to reintroduce a hen who has been sick or gone. A lot depends on pecking order and how many you have.

I have 4 hens and I can put her in a wire cage near them and they follow her around and one, who recently became head hen, will sometimes be the only one by her. That particular hen would be my concern because she is being pretty bossy and fighting other hens. She laid near the pen today and they all laid as close as they could get.

 

[Eggcessive]

Usually with wry neck or torticolis, we recommend human vitamin E 400 IU, super B complex vitamins 1/4 tablet, and a spoonful of scrambled or cooked egg (white and yolk) daily for a few weeks.

 

[megannicole90]

Usually with wry neck or torticolis, we recommend human vitamin E 400 IU, super B complex vitamins 1/4 tablet, and a spoonful of scrambled or cooked egg (white and yolk) daily for a few weeks.

I am going to start today. I tried mixing it before, but we are day 2 of eating more. She will not eat eggs or any other food other than soaked pellets. It is like she can’t eat hard pellets. There is no reason why either.

 

[megannicole90]

I am going to start today. I tried mixing it before, but we are day 2 of eating more. She will not eat eggs or any other food other than soaked pellets. It is like she can’t eat hard pellets. There is no reason why either.

Thank you so much for reminding me How many weeks. I thought it was just something permanent at this point.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

There is no reason why either.

You mean there is no reason you can see. Have you opened her beak, looked inside, made sure it's perfectly healthy?

You might try tossing a hard, dry pellet (or a few) into her soft mushy food to see if she eats it, or tosses it out or eats around it. If she eats it do it again for several days. Next week add a few more and contue until gradually she is eating more dry than wet. See where this is headed? It might be a slow process.

 

[megannicole90]

You mean there is no reason you can see. Have you opened her beak, looked inside, made sure it's perfectly healthy?

You might try tossing a hard, dry pellet (or a few) into her soft mushy food to see if she eats it, or tosses it out or eats around it. If she eats it do it again for several days. Next week add a few more and contue until gradually she is eating more dry than wet. See where this is headed? It might be a slow process.

I mean I have checked everything I could possible check for a reason for her not to eat hard pellets and I see nothing. I have been checking her for 15-16 days actually. I am finally getting her to eat mushy food before this I was syringe feeding and force feeding her and it was been a slow process to get her on mushy food and without me prompting and helping her. So I am quite sure she may still take several weeks to recover. I found if I feed her near the other hens she has started eating by herself, drinking and trying to go back to normal behavior.