Wry neck?

[aimz127]

Well, she reintegrated herself (not that I am surprised!). I put her out in a dog kennel, but there were a few tines missing in the door. I didn't think much of it, if she got out then she wanted to.

At some point in the 2 hours I left her out there she decided she wanted to explore with the others. I'll see what she does when it's roosting time and will bring her in if needed, but she seems content.

I'll keep up on her vitamins in the morning and let her do what she's able until she's up and running 100%

She's still doing well!

I brought her back inside today, it's been cold and she had her tail tucked too much for my liking. She needs to gain some weight and then I'll be happy to let her out again.

She can't feel too bad, she was fighting my other 'lorp over a mouse they found (that got taken away before someone tried to eat it)!

Any good way for me to fatten her up in addition to the mealworms and buttermilk she's getting in her food? I have pumpkin seed protein powder I could add too, but I didn't want to overkill

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad to hear she's doing well!
I would go slow with the weight gain. If she's eating her normal feed that's a good thing!
Extra protein from a little egg, meat or fish might give her a boost. Chick starter. Meal worms in moderation.
I've never looked into pumpkin see protein powder so can't say! You could probably alternate some of these things, but not all at once of course.

 

[aimz127]

I'm glad to hear she's doing well!
I would go slow with the weight gain. If she's eating her normal feed that's a good thing!
Extra protein from a little egg, meat or fish might give her a boost. Chick starter. Meal worms in moderation.
I've never looked into pumpkin see protein powder so can't say! You could probably alternate some of these things, but not all at once of course.

For as fast as they can lose weight, they sure take a while to gain it back! She's not a happy chicken being cooped up but I'd rather her be grumpy than be sick again.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

LOL She may eat better with the flock. Think about pulling her aside each day for an extra treat of egg or you can make up scrambled eggs for all - mine love them

 

[aimz127]

At this point, I'm not sure what else I can do for her.

She's drinking, but not wanting to eat much of her food, scrambled eggs, or anything that isn't mealworms or scratch. Her crop gets firm/doughy, she drinks, it gets squishy and I can massage it, but that it seems to fill back up almost like her gizzard doesn't have room for it.

This can be first thing in the morning with the same result or other times it empties just fine. I've started to put Monistat in the mealworms just to see if that helps with the crop since she won't eat the cream on its own. Her water has vitamins/electrolytes in it to try and give her more energy.

She's warm inside but keeps herself fluffed up and tail tucked mostly. I don't want to put her back out with the others as it's the coldest it's been all winter.

Feels like we're going into end-of-life care, which sucks.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry that she's not making much progress.

Does she have grit available?
Sounds like she's holding out for the good eats. If she's only eating mealworms and scratch, then she's lacking in nutrition. I would only make her normal feed available for several days, no treat at all and see if she will eat.

 

[aimz127]

She normally is all over the mush food I make for the others (soaked feed with a little bit of buttermilk or herbs) but wouldn't even touch that right now. I don't give her enough of the good eats for her to not still be hungry, mainly just as a sprinkle to entice her to eat in general. That was when she wouldn't eat her regular food for a day or so. Not eating scrambled egg even is surprising/upsetting.

Yes, she has grit available. I have to limit intake, or she'll eat the whole freakin' dish of it.

Will chickens starve themselves if they think they'll get better food?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm not sure if they would starve or not, they are food driven. You can try it for a day or so and see if she eats her normal feed.
Sometimes when not well, they just don't want their normal feed, but if sprinkling a little something over it entices her, I would do that.

 

[aimz127]

She's laying down and sleeping a lot. She doesn't have much balance, but keeps drinking water. Food isn't interesting anymore and she fights any kind of syringe feeding I try to do.

I think it might be an internal issue that I can't pinpoint. She never got to the point of laying like my other 'lorp, so maybe a reproductive issue or a gizzard issue as nothing seems to be absorbing.

At this point, she is warm under a heat lamp with fresh straw and water. Now we just wait.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Poor Dear!
You may be right that it's reproductive. There's so many things that can go wrong, often we don't know unless they die and a necropsy is performed.