Hen splayed out in coop - not able to move - now laid egg

[MandS]

Peggy is our 4 year old Marans. She has had an episode like this some years ago where she was lying across the floor of the sleeping area unable to move, quite unresponsive. That time I took her indoors and eventually with help, she got back on her feet and later laid an egg.

She is not a regular layer - it can go many many weeks without an egg - or a soft shelled one which then gets eaten.

Today she was again spread-eagled out, her legs behind her stretched out straight. I took her in and helped get her more into a sitting position. I gave her a calcium tablet, kept her warm and in the dark. She then laid an egg. Problem is, she still isn't standing up. She is trying but is more on her elbows than her feet. She is very unstable and there's no way I can put her back in the coop. Her right foot seems better than the left, which seems to be odd - all toes stretched out straight but the inner toe is under the middle one.

Add to that, she has pooped dark green and smelly. I did wonder if she has sour crop because her crop was not empty this morning when I brought her in and she has no access to food or drink until we let them out. Crop was squashy. I have given her mash and garlic steeped water.

Not sure what to do. Although here before, this seems different. I have opened the room up to light again as otherwise she will be asleep all day.

Any ideas what I can do?

 

[ChicNmom]

If her breath is also yeasty then it's getting sour.

At 4 she is getting to a point where some internal reproductive issues could be happening. If there is inflammation in her reproductive tract it could affect her crop emptying.

I would keep giving her some calcium. in case there is another egg on the way. Also apple cider vinegar can help the sour crop.

If you can find Meloxicam that would help with possible inflammation. You need to get it from a vet. But if you have or know someone with an older dog or cat it is prescribed for things like arthritis so someone may part with a small chicken size dose.

 

[MandS]

Thanks. I will give her another half a TUMS and keep her in overnight.

She cannot stand up. The toes on the left foot are crossed over (will try to get a picture) but her other foot appears better. There is no pain if I try to manipulate her foot. Am now wondering if she could have had a stroke? Today's egg is the first for weeks by the way.

I have some Meloxicam (which was given by the vet for another hen), so will try her on a bit of that.

 

[MandS]

Just some pictures. She continues to move around in the cage, turning around as she wants but cannot stand up. She tries but ends up on her elbows. Left leg appears weaker than right.

This is sudden - yesterday she was a right as rain - running after scratch and went to be normally. Today, she was just lying there and, as mentioned, she did lay an egg whilst in this cage.

Could it be another egg still in her? Could it be a stroke? Could it be (as I have been reading this evening) a vitamin deficiency. It's so sudden. I don't get it.

Here are her feet with her trying to stand up to drink water. That's what I mean about being on her elbows and you can see her left foot is all clustered together. Also a picture of her colouring (which is very good).

 

[coach723]

Hock sitting can be from a riboflavin deficiency (it can also affect the toes). I would get a human B complex supplement and give her half of one daily. You can mix it in a bit of moistened feed. If that is not what it is it won't do any harm, B vitamins are water soluble and extra is excreted. Deficiencies can show up suddenly, and since she's a bit older she may not be absorbing things as well as she used to. Also, If this happened before then it's possible that during her passing the egg it was pressing on the sciatic nerve along the way and causing issues from that. Particularly if it was a large egg, or was slow moving. I would do the vitamins, give her some time, see if she recovers again. Older hens can develop reproductive problems, it's not uncommon, the soft shelled eggs could be an indication of that, or perhaps not absorbing enough calcium. Not much that can be done about them. In the meantime you can use rolled up bath towels around her to help stabilize her upright, or use a chicken sling to keep her upright and comfortable for periods, and make it easier for her to eat and drink, examples below. Do supervise the sling, some tolerate it well, some don't and she could hurt herself if she panics and tries to get out of it.

 

[MandS]

That's fantastic advice. Thank you.

I'll try the vitamins tomorrow. She's able to move but I like the idea of taking the weight of her feet.

I'm nervous about tonight. She's inside in a cage. Hope she survives the night.

 

[coach723]

If the room is dark she should be calm and do OK. I'd just make sure to get her hydrated as well as you can today. I often used rolled up bath towels around them at night. They kind of snuggle down into their 'nest'. If they do move around the towels aren't going to hurt them. Let us know how she gets along.

 

[ChicNmom]

Thanks for the pic. I've never seen one sit like that so I hope it is a vitamin deficiency and she gets better!

 

[MandS]

Update: Crop cleared and empty. Poop normal (and big!). She is quite happy but cannot stand. She is raising herself up and then realises she cannot either get fully up on her feet or sustain her weight, so she sits back down.

I got her age wrong. Just saw the photos of her as an 18 week old when we got her and her sisters in March 2016, so she's over 5.

She is eating very well. I am concerned about Vitamin B Complex tablets. I hunted around today at various pet stores for Vitamin B supplements - nothing available other than for parrots. These B Complex tablets are 2 per day per human and contain many ingredients. I am worried some might not be useful for chickens and also just how much of a tablet to give.

There are high strength, so, for example the daily dose of 2 tablets contain:
B2 - 15mg (909% RDA)
B6 - 10mg (714% RDA)
Niacin 25mg
B12 - 25ug (1000% RDA)

Then stuff like
Panththenic Acid 100mg
Chlorine Bitartrate - 250mg

So just lots of stuff at very high rates.

I gave her some tuna, which is high in B, and will give her some scrambled egg later.

Any help on the dosage or other foods to give, please let me know. I am going to order some Nettex Nutri Drops - but I don't think there is an B in there.

Am I losing time here and should I be thinking about getting her a B injection? Fully locked down in UK, plus Bird Flu, so getting to the vet is a case of handing her over in the carpark!

Again, thank you all for your help. She is quite happy and I have given some light today but have kept the room reasonably dark.

 

[coach723]

You can use human supplements, or bird, doesn't matter, vitamins are vitamins. Pantothenic acid is B5, Choline bitartrate is a nutrient similar to the B's. The B's are very safe to give, extra is excreted so you really don't need to worry about giving too much. If it is a deficiency, then you often have to give high doses in order to get it reversed. Once reversed they can maintain normal levels usually. Deficiency in the B's will often cause neuro-muscular symptoms, riboflavin (B2) and thiamine (B1) in particular. I would supplement for a while to see if you get some improvement. If there is not any improvement then other causes would need to be considered. Particularly since you said something similar had happened before, and resolved, I think it's worth the try.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vitamin-deficiencies-poultry-rakesh-kumar