A Homemade Life
Welcome to Homemade Life.

To take full advantage of everything offered by our forum, please log in if you are already a member or join our community if not ....

Chilli-head
A Homemade Life
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.
Who is online?
In total there are 4 users online :: 0 Registered, 0 Hidden and 4 Guests

None

Most users ever online was 112 on 8th October 2020, 7:09 am
Latest topics
» Hungry Birds
by Dirick55 7th December 2023, 6:04 am

» PRESENTATION
by Chilli-head 23rd November 2023, 2:55 pm

» New Kiva loan
by Chilli-head 21st July 2023, 12:35 pm

» A peat-free compost is top in UK Which? magazine trial
by Dandelion 25th April 2023, 9:42 pm

» New gardening year 2023
by Chilli-head 5th March 2023, 10:15 pm

» What have I done in the workshop today?
by Dandelion 2nd December 2022, 1:12 pm

» What are you harvesting today?
by Dandelion 2nd December 2022, 1:12 pm

» Wartime marrow casserole
by Dandelion 18th October 2022, 4:42 pm

» Late sowings in August ... beans ?
by Ploshkin 11th August 2022, 9:29 am

» Come August, come night in the garden
by Chilli-head 4th August 2022, 3:29 pm

» Welcome guest
by Ploshkin 31st July 2022, 9:16 am

» The Jolly July Garden
by Ploshkin 19th July 2022, 11:38 am

» More mead ...
by Chilli-head 13th July 2022, 12:52 pm

» The June garden thread
by Dandelion 25th June 2022, 9:55 pm

» Plastic bags
by Dandelion 5th June 2022, 7:28 pm

» The merry May garden
by Dandelion 31st May 2022, 10:04 pm

» Fooling around in the April garden
by freebird 1st May 2022, 8:33 am

» March into the garden
by Dandelion 1st April 2022, 7:26 pm

» Mow Suggestions
by freebird 29th March 2022, 5:48 pm

» Some thoughts on resilience
by Ploshkin 12th March 2022, 2:23 pm

Statistics
We have 270 registered users
The newest registered user is Lloyd

Our users have posted a total of 48045 messages in 2416 subjects
Pages we like:

Injured hen Hca_button


Injured hen

+4
theabsinthefairy
Wilhelm Von Rhomboid
Adrian
Compostwoman
8 posters

Go down

Injured hen Empty Injured hen

Post by Compostwoman 21st January 2011, 11:28 am

Have a hen in a box next to the aga as she has somehow injured herself
and although I can't see any obvious sign of injury, she can only stand/walk
for a short time and then sinks to the ground....wings slightly outstretched

She has been like it for 3 days now and has actually improved a bit as she can now walk and stand up. She is also a bit hunched over anyway because she is moulting a bit

Apart from this she is well and happy, eating, drinking, BEABT and pooing etc, so am hoping a few days in the warm being immobile may
help the muscles to heal.

I had a hen like this once before, where someone dropped her and she landed hard, I did the same thing and she recovered....


So has anyone had a similar chickeny experience?

I don't want to have to kill her, she is a
good hen, the best layer and a very friendly personality.... Crying or Very sad and I don't really see what the Vet could do, apart from an X Ray (!) to see what might be broken? (and I am not doing that!)
avatar
Compostwoman

Posts : 5688
Join date : 2009-11-08

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by Adrian 21st January 2011, 11:33 am

I had something similar recently. One of my Ameraucanas got squished by our lame Muscovy. she couldn't roost and just camped down in one of the nest boxes.. She was pathetic enough for long enough to make me consider culling her, then one day she was recovered and roosted and back to normal.

I tend to let them be and try not to anthropomorphise my birds (I already do they with the indoor fur babies) and if they die, then I am sad, but accepting..
Adrian
Adrian
Founder and crotchety old git who wanders around in a threadbare dressing gown muttering

Posts : 2944
Join date : 2009-11-06
Age : 54
Location : Paradise, Nova Scotia

http://www.paradisepapercraft.ca

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by Compostwoman 21st January 2011, 12:14 pm

The bringing her inside aspect is to keep her muscles warm, Badger...she is not going to heal well sitting on the cold ground and also she was not getting to the food as the others just pushed her aside...

So bringing her inside was really the only humane alternative to killing her.

If she continues to improve day by day and can start to walk around that will be good. If at any point she looks distessed I will kill her.

Although I name my hens, and am very keen on them, and recognise their individual nature, I tend not to anthropomorphise very much now . I used to, but after so many deaths etc it becomes too much if one does... Crying or Very sad
avatar
Compostwoman

Posts : 5688
Join date : 2009-11-08

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by Adrian 21st January 2011, 12:36 pm

but after so many deaths etc it becomes too much if one does... Crying or Very sad

I have the same reasons
Adrian
Adrian
Founder and crotchety old git who wanders around in a threadbare dressing gown muttering

Posts : 2944
Join date : 2009-11-06
Age : 54
Location : Paradise, Nova Scotia

http://www.paradisepapercraft.ca

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by Wilhelm Von Rhomboid 21st January 2011, 1:11 pm

I tend not to anthropomorphise my animals beacuse they are animals not people and and this whole business of making little gingham curtains for teh henhouse window and bringing them indoors to watch afternoon telly and so on is deeply odd in my view. It has nothing at all to do with the best interests of the animal and everything to do with the owner. My daughter, at 5, has grown out of trying to dress the cats up as dollies - she is able to distinguish between toys and living creatures. Grown adults who are not should not really be responsible for animals IMO. (not suggesting anyone here does this, it was a general observation)

Could the hen just have got too cold at night CW? Sometimes they get so chilled they cannot warm up again in the day. We lost a few in the last cold snap this way. We brought them in and put them by the fire but most it was too late. Although if she is otherwise BEABT it sounds less likely.
Wilhelm Von Rhomboid
Wilhelm Von Rhomboid

Posts : 2942
Join date : 2009-11-08
Location : Schloss Rhomboid, Carpathia.

http://www.killandcure.net/blog/

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by theabsinthefairy 21st January 2011, 1:15 pm

It is hard to lose birds unneccesarily, I hate that aspect of keeping animals. We have currently three separate flocks albeit that they all live together. The first flock are now 4 years old and not laying so well anymore so looking to cull some of those this spring, then there is the meat flock of birds raised for the short term goal of filling the freezer, and then there are my new orpington girls that are pets really.

Anyway - back to your chicken question - if she is eating and drinking well but moulting she may well recover by herself, in the meantime have you checked for lice and/or mites. The little whatsists really get the chickens run down and moulting at an inopportune time like winter can be indicative of lice infestation. The chickens can appear listless and lethargic, hunched but still be eating and drinking well. Assuming that she is not egg bound nor has a choked crop, because she would not normally eat then.

Apple cider vinegar is a good worm tonic for all the birds too if you suspect that maybe worms are causing her condition.

We have nursed back to health a limping chicken who had fallen from her perch and had (we suspect) broken her thigh but she managed to get around enough after a while to scratch and perch, but on the other hand we also had to cull a cockerel who we think got pushed off his perch for being too randy one night and while his leg did not feel broken he just refused to pick himself up and move around to fend for himself.

theabsinthefairy
theabsinthefairy

Posts : 10
Join date : 2011-01-21

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by Compostwoman 21st January 2011, 5:27 pm

Thanks for the responses!

She routinely gets ACV and garlic, as well as being wormed regularly. She also gets to dust bathe daily and is dusted for mites and lice on a regular basis with Diatom and Barrier redmite/louse powder ( its the same stuff in both of them btw!)

I have given her a dusting since she became incapacitiated.

It is NOT just due to moulting, as she cannot walk, she can stand but if she tries to move her left leg she drops back down. She actually looks quite perky and friendly for a moulty hen, mostly they seem to get very grumpy!

She IS improved today and stood up of her own accord to get some food, but seems happiest in her box of straw, sitting in a comfortable ( I guess) position.

I did wonder if she had just got chilled, but the others are all fine and she is normaly one of the top hens.

I am certain it is due to some kind of injury: I thionk the Blue Orpingtom ( top hen) has been having a go...her fighting tactic is to sit on the other hen.....

I just wondered if any of you has experienced a similar thing with any of your hens and what the prognosis was.

So far I have nursed one hen back injury back to health and laying and also one cockerel who ( yes too randy!) fell of the perch as well.. but they could both still limp around.....so was just wondering if this one was worth the effort.
avatar
Compostwoman

Posts : 5688
Join date : 2009-11-08

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by theabsinthefairy 21st January 2011, 7:04 pm

As a vet is unlikely to do anything, you have nothing to lose by trying to nurse her yourself. Either she recovers to fend for herself but if not at least you are keeping her weight up as she is at least a viable meal.

Sounds as though she has either twisted or dislocated her thigh - they do it easily enough unfortunately. If dislocated badly the leg will eventually die due to lack of blood supply, if a strain she should recover with a bit of rest.
theabsinthefairy
theabsinthefairy

Posts : 10
Join date : 2011-01-21

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by Happy 21st January 2011, 7:37 pm

I recently lost my favorite lady to a similar sounding occurrence. One day she was no longer on the roost, but on the floor, and was slow to move and did not return to her coop that evening. I carried her home that night and put her in on the roost, and she did OK. The next morning, she couldn't walk on her own and kept falling forward. One of her legs didn't seem to lift enough anymore, and her toes were dragging on the ground, so she would just plop and wait it out. It was very sad and I didn't understand why Henrietta was this way, so I offered her a box on the floor and she spent another couple of miserable days roosting in a box and moping in the coop. Then, still no better, I seperated Henrietta and offered her antibotics and foodstuffs she enjoyed still, as her appetite never faltered. And every day, I noticed she was no better. She seemed to be getting lighter in weight. She was sleeping all the time. One morning, she was layed out, wings out, and so we helped end what now seemed painful. We both tried our best, but it wasn't meant to be any longer. I mention all of this because she had similar symptoms. I supposed that she had an injury and her foot/leg was causing the lameness and sleepiness, but come the end, it didn't seem to be the case. Good luck to your hen kudos to you for trying to help.
Happy
Happy

Posts : 5
Join date : 2011-01-21

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by Compostwoman 21st January 2011, 8:05 pm

Thank you for the kind replies.

Sounds like we are all in agreement that she might get better Smile , or she might not.... Crying or Very sad

She is still eating, drinking, pooing and seems fine in herself, and can stand on her legs now for 5 mins at a time, and had enough spirit to peck at an annoying Cassi kitten tonight....

But yes, I suspect some major damage is there and she will either recover fairly quickly or I will need to dispatch her. Have sort of got Sunday in my mind as a day of decision, as it will have been 6 days by then and with most animals would expect a fairly major improvement by a week, if a mendable broken bone....

Fingers crossed as Treacle is a good natured hen, is a Black Rock, cost a bit, and lays lovely brown eggs for 26 out of 30 days a year.....

Always the best ones that get injured or got by the fox.......sigh
avatar
Compostwoman

Posts : 5688
Join date : 2009-11-08

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by Wilhelm Von Rhomboid 21st January 2011, 8:23 pm

Compostwoman wrote:and lays lovely brown eggs for 26 out of 30 days a year.....


are those chicken years?
Wilhelm Von Rhomboid
Wilhelm Von Rhomboid

Posts : 2942
Join date : 2009-11-08
Location : Schloss Rhomboid, Carpathia.

http://www.killandcure.net/blog/

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by Lottie 21st January 2011, 8:27 pm

Wilhelm Von Rhomboid wrote:and this whole business of making little gingham curtains for teh henhouse window and bringing them indoors to watch afternoon telly and so on is deeply odd in my view

Embarassed does it count if you're slightly mad.. Embarassed Razz Wink
The curtains were to keep the light out so they didn't get up so early.... Laughing Razz

Hope she feels better soon, CW

Lottie
Lottie

Posts : 840
Join date : 2009-11-09
Age : 58
Location : In a hedge, mostly...

http://www.lilypads.biz/

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by Compostwoman 21st January 2011, 8:38 pm

Wilhelm Von Rhomboid wrote:
Compostwoman wrote:and lays lovely brown eggs for 26 out of 30 days a year.....


are those chicken years?
lol!

Always there to correct, Billy.... Rolling Eyes

26 days a month out of 30 days a month ( or 31, or 28, or 29...)
avatar
Compostwoman

Posts : 5688
Join date : 2009-11-08

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by Dandelion 21st January 2011, 10:50 pm

Hope to hear good news over the weekend, then.
Dandelion
Dandelion
Admin

Posts : 5416
Join date : 2010-01-17
Age : 67
Location : Ledbury, Herefordshire

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by Compostwoman 21st January 2011, 10:53 pm

Dandelion wrote:Hope to hear good news over the weekend, then.

Fingers crossed, D!

She is standing up again to eat and drink and poo, so that is improvement...
avatar
Compostwoman

Posts : 5688
Join date : 2009-11-08

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by theabsinthefairy 22nd January 2011, 12:23 pm

Compostwoman wrote:

Always the best ones that get injured or got by the fox.......sigh


Unfortunately very true
theabsinthefairy
theabsinthefairy

Posts : 10
Join date : 2011-01-21

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by Compostwoman 22nd January 2011, 2:55 pm

Well today she has climbed out of the box and walked a few steps AND stood for about 20 mins without "flopping down"

So fingers crossed it is working....
avatar
Compostwoman

Posts : 5688
Join date : 2009-11-08

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by Compostwoman 31st January 2011, 4:36 pm

Just to let you all know, by Tues 25 th Jan she was walking with a slight limp and flapping her wings

so Wednesday morning I put her back in with the others and she is now fully recovered and laying, again Very Happy
avatar
Compostwoman

Posts : 5688
Join date : 2009-11-08

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by MrsNesbitt 13th February 2011, 11:00 pm

Great news CW.
Dxxx
MrsNesbitt
MrsNesbitt
Homemade Moderator

Posts : 536
Join date : 2009-11-07
Location : North Yorkshire

http://www.denisebydesigns.net

Back to top Go down

Injured hen Empty Re: Injured hen

Post by Sponsored content


Sponsored content


Back to top Go down

Back to top


 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum