Bright ideas welcome and ? vet or not

Sue

Sue

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Sorry folks, but I'm asking for advice again!!!!

My hen with the drooping wings is the latest of my hens to cause me worry and sleepless nights! I don't know what's going on with her or what to do!

She is as lively as usual, eating VERY well, drinking normally, pooing normally and laid an egg this afternoon (normal egg)! Her wings were both drooping this afternoon, with one touching the ground, she doesn't seem to have the energy or maybe it's coordination to get into the house. She never walks up the slope anyway, but jumps from floor to top, but she can't make it. Luckily I was there today when she tried to get into the house to lay the egg and waiting for her to try to go in tonight to pick her up and put her in. Trouble is she's probably the hardest to catch of all of them and tonight was very difficult to catch. But I had to do it, because she would't be able to get in otherwise! She's perching ok and got onto the perch herself. She's got 2 more days of antibiotics, but it doesn't seem to be having any effect on her wing problem at the moment.

Anyway, my queries are:

1) Does anyone have any ideas what I could do to make it easier for her to get into the house? Tomorrow I'm at work all day and won't be here to help her if she wants to get in, which is obviously going to stress her out if she wants to lay.

2) Should I take her to the vets on Tuesday or wait and see how things go? Bearing in mind taking her to the vets is an hours trip in the car, plus the stress of being at the vets. She obviously doesn't feel unwell if she's acting normally, eating and laying.

3) What can I give her to boost her energy? She's having LC Energy which the vets gave me to give them when they were coughing and sneezing (this goes in the water). But this doesn't seem to be helping enough.

Sorry there's so many questions, but I don't know what to do for the best!
 
Hi Sue. A ramp into the coop is all I can think of. Sounds like going to the vets will do more harm than good and I doubt he can do anything. Carry on and relax -she sounds just fine. Winter is coming to an end and hopefully she'll be full of beans soon.

Must add here Sue that Daffodil with the droopy wings 12 months ago is the same one now with the creaky joints and swollen feet. Perhaps there is an underlying congenital problem as Daffodil (who is now a house hen and loving it) has.
 
From what you say, she appears in good health apart from the wing problem. Not sure how antibiotics are going to help her wings, but they may be dealing with some underlying cause, and she hasn't finished the course yet. Maybe the lack of energy could just be that the antibiotic has made her feel washed -out - i'm sure this has happened to all of us in similar situations (though perhaps not because of our droopy wings!) If she already has a supplement from the vet to boost her energy, it might not be a good idea to give anything else, especially as she's eating well anyway. I'm sure her diet is excellent, no chance of any deficiencies with how you feed them!
As you say, it's a long journey to your vet - do you mean it's a 2-hour round trip? Unlikely to be helpful, unless you feel there's something going on that the vet could actually help with, eg if she was showing symptoms of something possibly infectious, which she isn't. As you say, she 'obviously doesn't feel unwell if she's acting normally, eating and laying.' You have to leave her tomorrow anyway, so there's no need to make any decisions before Tuesday at the earliest. If she's the same on Tuesday, ie no worse, and has by then finished her antibiotics, and doesn't appear to be in pain, you might just rest her and observe how she gets on before the next 'vet decision-point', ie Thursday-Friday before the weekend. This will give it a chance either to heal, or to develop. If you go too soon, there won't really be much to report to the vet, in relation to the problems of the journey, stress etc. It sounds as if it's probably some sort of strain which develops during the day and is improved by rest overnight, doesn't it? In which case, it should gradually heal if she doesn't have to exert herself too much.

As for the mobility problem - does she lay in the Green Frog coop, with its ramp, or in another coop? If so, does the other coop have a ramp, or steps? Perhaps fixing a longer plank might make the effort of getting up there easier for her. Otherwise, if there's room under the coop and the hens sometimes do go there, why not just put down some comfortable nesting material, perhaps in an open-fronted box, and leave her to lay there if she wants? It might catch on, and they'll all want to share it!
 
is there any signs of her starting to moult , i have one thats pretty down and the mo and tomorrow may very well be her last day but i am willing to give her a bit more of chance but her wings have dropped and shes barely eatinga although i did manage to get her to eat some bread an mashed down pellets this afternoon but if you go near her she picks up as if nothing is wrong but she is starting to moult as shes lost most of her tails and the other ffeathers aint looking to bright actully thinking about it i have 2 or 3 like it i know they are moulting late but this weather is backwards at the mo that nothing is doing what its meant to at this time of year .
 
Sue, the vet told me that antibiotics, certainly Baytril, completely destroys the gut flora. It is important after the course finishes that the gut is restarted with probiotic natural yoghurt or even better Beryls tonic. Perhaps she is tired simply because she can't get any energy from her food and is running out of reserves?
 
Just to clarify a few points raised in everyone's replies. She was put on the antibiotics because the vet thought her wings may be drooping because she had an infection i.e. Myco or IB, as she had been sneezing very occasionally and she is with the other hens who were treated for this recently. The antibiotic is Denagard, not Baytril Chris and I have been giving them all natural yoghurt daily, which she definitely gets her fair share of (ending up with it spread all over her face as well!) Marigold, she's in the wooden house, not the frog. She would be fine if she was in the frog because it's a lot lower, but the wooden house has a slope up to it which has wood attached at intervals for them to grip, but the house is about 2-2 1/2 feet from the ground. The vets would be a 1-1 1/2 hour round trip.

She's not moulting as she's not a year old yet.

We've put an upturned flowerpot next to the slope with a large piece of stone to create a sort of step. Just hope she can work out why they are there.

I did think about putting an open fronted box in the run with some wood shavings in it, but didn't think she would use it as she's used to using the nest boxes in the house and thought she would want to try to get into the house regardless of supplying a temporary nest box for her.
 
I think you are doing a fine job in looking after her, I think in this case it may be more of a waiting game, for her to improve or further symptoms to develop.

The weakness she is experiencing could be due to her fighting an infection, or a neurological problem affecting her spinal cord and thus her balance and wing motor function.

I know this is very difficult for you, you really are doing all the right things x
 
Thank you for the reassurance Foxy. She came down the slope this morning and fell over and struggled to get herself up again, but she was fine when she got up and carried on as normal. As you say, I will just have to wait and see how things go, so far there isn't any real deterioration, but still can't stop worrying!!!!!!!!
 
I think she's going to have to go to the vets tomorrow. If I try to pick her up and she tries to get away as she runs off she falls over and can't get herself up again. I don't know whether she is falling over her wings or losing her balance. She walks around perfectly ok, not wobbly or stumbling. She tried to jump into the house tonight and fell and struggled to get up again. Her poo yesterday was ok, but today she has a dirty bum and is producing watery poo with bits of solid poo in it. I suppose this could be the antibiotics, but I have been giving her yoghurt. She appears to be eating ok, but her crop isn't full or even half full tonight and for the amount she was eating before, she should be quite chunky, but she isn't. She isn't overly thin, but is on the slim side. Having said that, she isn't a 'chunky' type bird like my other Sussex, but is a much more slender and streamlined type. It's all very odd as she seems ok in herself. I could understand it more if she was just standing around and not joining in with the others. She is very alert and the first one in any food I put down.

It's sad watching her because she really wants to get into the house with the others and obviously can't understand why she can't do it! Also she is not even 12 months old yet and is quite a character, always talking to me and follows me around. I have a horrible feeling she's not going to get better!
 
Sorry Sue, I feel you will know what is the right thing to do. It is very upsetting when our birds are ill, chooks are so good at hiding their symptoms aren't they? :(
 
you can say that again foxy when they are poorly it really makes me think that i really should of done my research before ever getting chocks but if i had done loads of reading first i think it would put me of getting any .
 
Hang in there Sue, it's heartbreaking watching your babies suffer and not knowing what to do about it. She'll either make it or not, but if not, you'll know she's no longer in pain or suffering...... xxx
 
There is certainly something sinister going on and the drooping wing seems to have been the first sign of something wrong.
 
Update on Tilly -

Took her to the chicken vet at 4pm today. I was in two minds whether to go or not as first thing this morning she seemed worse, but during the morning she improved. Last minute decision, decided to go. Bit of a waste of time really as we are no further forward knowing what the problem is!!!!

He examined her wings, saw her walking etc. etc. and mentioned very scary words like Mareks!!! He said she is at the top end of the age range where this could be the problem and couldn't rule it out, but he didn't think she had it. Not putting my mind at rest there then!!!!!!!

I came away with some Beryl's Friendly Bacteria, more of the LC Energy (that they have all been having since the Myco/IB). He said she would be infected with this anyway as she is with the birds who were showing symptoms, but he didn't think her chest sounded wheezy, even though she seems to be gasping for breath if she gets stressed. I've also got some Life Long Layer which is sprinkled on the food daily. She did a soft poo while she was there on the consulting room floor and he suggested that I worm them all now.

He suggested I feed her anything she will eat to make sure she has a full crop.

She still can't get up into the house on her own, so can't get in to lay if I'm not here and has to be caught and lifted in at night, which she doesn't like.

I have to contact him again if she deteriorates or shows more symptoms.

So that was a very stressful day without any diagnosis/solution.
 
Well at least she's still with you, Sue,and no worse, thats great. It does sound to me as if the vet was sort of casting around for things to suggest! Is she actually still laying? If so, where?
 
She's not laying Marigold. The last time was at the weekend. I just happened to be with them when she started to try to get into the house and couldn't, so I lifted her in. I'm going to put an open fronted box with shavings into the inside run in a dark corner in the morning, but I don't know whether she would use it or not. She is eating very well, ate lots of scrambled and sweetcorn this evening after the visit to the vet. I'm just going to separate her from the others 3 times a day and feed her nice tasty things to make sure she is eating enough to get her strength back. Don't know what else to do really!
 
I'm at a complete loss as well Sue and I wouldn't be doing anything different to you. I do pick the sickies up and take them for a walk with me every day. Provides a lot of stimulation, perhaps terror initially. Been bringing Dilly up to sit on my knee while I read the forum posts for the last few weeks. Tonight I forgot and she stood at the bottom of the stairs squawking, until I went down and brought her up. Proper little house hen she's turning out to be.
 
Chris, I wouldn't be surprised if you had a queue of hens waiting outside your door!!! I think every hen in the country would want to live with you!

:D :D
 
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