would like a second opinion on whether to keep going with a sick hen

[chocluver]

Hi everyone...would like a second opinion on whether to keep going with a sick hen. She is nearly 6 years old, half silkie

5 days ago she didn't come out the coop, so I picked her up and thought she was a bit thin - gave a seperate feed and she tucked in fine. The next day the same and I noticed her head bobbing in a funny way, by the end of the day she had no balance, neck twisting a bit but not extremely, wanting to hide in corners.

Wry neck? I am an experienced keeper but never had a chicken with this.

For 3 days I have been syringe feeding (egg yolk, buttermilk, electrolytes, vit e, water).
She is inside and safe, warm.
Droppings watery / green.
She can't stand by herself. Won't eat or drink.
Her head is upright with a slight nodding, eyes are bright. She has a bit of fight in her when feeding.

My suspicion is that there is an underlying cause to the wry neck symptom that isn't a vitamin deficiency. No other chickens with symptoms.

Do I keep going?
Am I just prolonging her suffering?

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

For me personally syringe feeding is a bridge too far. Every time I have invested that level of care into a sick hen she has ended up dying anyway and I feel I’ve just prolonged her suffering. But I am not a chicken illness expert and there are people here who are so I will tag them because they will recognize too far gone better than I.

@azygous @Wyorp Rock @coach723

 

[coach723]

I have hand or syringe fed on occasion, did one just recently. I will go for up to a week to see if I get improvement. If there is improvement I will keep going. If no improvement, or if what I am feeding isn't digesting, just sitting in the crop, I will discontinue. It really just depends on the circumstances and how the bird is responding. My recent one was a very old hen, almost 14, who had been blind for several years. She'd been losing weight and then stopped eating and drinking. First couple of days she seemed to rally a bit, but then her crop stopped emptying and she continued to deteriorate, so I stopped. It was her time. So there isn't a cut and dried answer, you need to do what you think is necessary and reasonable, and that can be different for us all. It can be very hard to know for sure until necropsy. But when they don't willingly eat on their own they are definitely ill. Sometimes we can figure it out and help them recover, sometimes we can't.

 

[chocluver]

For me personally syringe feeding is a bridge too far. Every time I have invested that level of care into a sick hen she has ended up dying anyway and I feel I’ve just prolonged her suffering.

Pretty much the same here, once they stop eating they don't seem to start again. I always feel I need to try just in case but not a high success rate

 

[chocluver]

I have hand or syringe fed on occasion, did one just recently. I will go for up to a week to see if I get improvement. If there is improvement I will keep going. If no improvement, or if what I am feeding isn't digesting, just sitting in the crop, I will discontinue. It really just depends on the circumstances and how the bird is responding. My recent one was a very old hen, almost 14, who had been blind for several years. She'd been losing weight and then stopped eating and drinking. First couple of days she seemed to rally a bit, but then her crop stopped emptying and she continued to deteriorate, so I stopped. It was her time. So there isn't a cut and dried answer, you need to do what you think is necessary and reasonable, and that can be different for us all. It can be very hard to know for sure until necropsy. But when they don't willingly eat on their own they are definitely ill. Sometimes we can figure it out and help them recover, sometimes we can't.

Think I am finding this harder than other occassions as it was so sudden, she was free ranging a week ago...usually I spot a decline/ something a miss. However she is skinny so it could have been hidden from obvious view that something has been up

Possibily the other thing throwing my judgment out is that she has her head up and eyes alert. Past experience for me is that they are tired and eyes closed, head droppy, comb folded and pale etc

 

[Bsmac]

I agree with what @coach723 and @chocluver have said. I may try syringe feeding for a bit but I have had mixed results with it. It seems like usually when they quit eating and drinking on their own they are so ill that they are beyond help. So sorry she is declining...

 

[Anon112]

Is her crop draining the food that you are feeding her?

 

[chocluver]

Is her crop draining the food that you are feeding her?

Yes it is, no crop issue as far as I can tell

 

[Anon112]

Yes it is, no crop issue as far as I can tell

I am sort of like you, in that if an animal is alert and seems to have that "want to live" energy, I'm hesitant to put them down.

I might continue with the feeding for another day or two and see if there is any improvement.

Would anyone else in here recommend giving some calcium just in case she's got reproductive material that isn't passing?

 

[chocluver]

I am sort of like you, in that if an animal is alert and seems to have that "want to live" energy, I'm hesitant to put them down.

Thanks...I had one with ascites once and she was very happy living like penguin but I thought it best to have her euthanised. It was not a good decision, she wouldn't let the drugs do their thing and fought it and it took the vet nearly 2 hours to do it