AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Hello;

As a quick follow-up. Bridget has made three visits to the avian vet as part of his follow-up procedure. You may recall that the vet stitched the wound. The wound is healing very nicely with no infection. The skin is now sealed. Bridget during this time (10 days) was confined to a 3 x 3 m cage inside the house. During this time, her leg was very sore and she hobbled a few feet only when absolutely necessary.

Yesterday, Bridget was released into an enclosure (6M square roughly) within the main hen coup - which is a lot larger . She has her own sleeping quarters and the other hens can see her through the fence. Bridget appeared very content to be in the enclosure, close to other hens. There was much hen talk between the fence between her and the other hens when she arrived in the enclosure - this continued for an hour or so. She is eating, although not as much as usual. Her leg is very painful and she only hops about preferring to sit it if possible.

I contacted the vet again, and he believes there maybe deep muscle tearing (not known). It also maybe tightening of the skin form the stitches. I would have thought that the pain should subside and the hen become more mobile with time, rather than the opposite occurring.

If the condition persists into next week or becomes worse, I may ask the vet to take some x-rays (the vet was adamant that there were no fractures as the hen can stand). Perhaps a MRI can be taken to determine tissue damage. I am concerned that the leg pain is still very much apparent despite the wound healing well.

Certainly Bridget in her current condition cannot be released into the main enclosure.

Has anyone dealt with a similar problem (lame and painful leg) ??

Thank you for everyone's help, CG

Hello

A follow-up on Bridget (alpha hen) that was attacked by a dog. I should have updated the post earlier but due to the circumstances didn't feel like putting pen to paper....

The wound Bridget received from the dog was stitched and she visited the vet a number of times. The wound healed very well. However, Bridget soon became lame and could not walk - she hobbled along on her wings which was very distressing. She had to be removed from the main flock, as the other hens realizing she was a liability attacked her. Bridget resided in large enclosure within the main coup. She could see and hear the other chickens and they spoke regularly through the fence . She seemed happy and not distressed and we certainly spent considerable time giving her the foods she liked.

The avian vet could not determine the cause for the lame leg (paralyzed), but thought that it was possible that nerve damage has been sustained at some point. Muscle wastage was very obvious as the leg was not used.

Bridget soon stayed in her house and never ventured outside. We would carry her to a section of the pen that we had buried some worms, etc to allow her to dig them up. But after a short time she always wanted to return indoors. Bridget continued to eat and strike up conversation with the other chickens and us when we went to feed her. She enjoyed bananas, mixed fruits, lettuce, greens, seed and corn kernels - and worms - always hand served!

Slowly she began to look ragged (similar to a mild molt). We took her back to the vet who suggested we should put her down - we declined saying we will see how it goes for another 7 days.

On the 6th day, she was eating breakfast when suddenly she jumped up and hobbled outside and began to convulse. She died a few seconds later. She was bleeding from the mouth and had expelled several lumpy pieces of flesh.

The vet asked to do an autopsy (free of charge) and we attended the procedure. The wound inflicted by the dog had healed very well and there was no sign of infection. The muscle wastage was severe with no muscle on the paralyzed side. There was no internal damage, nor broken bones; however, Bridget's liver was very friable. Rubbing your finger over the liver dislodged pieces of the organ (a normal liver should not be friable). The vet suggested that the cause of death was immediate liver failure and ingestion into the air sacks of pieces of liver - this she had regurgitated during the convulsion. The vet stated that Bridget would have died of liver failure even if the dog had not attacked and injured her.

It was a sad week, but there is some comfort in knowing she would have died from liver failure no matter what... Bridget is buried in the garden with some flowers growing over her

Thank you to those who offered help and advice.

Rest in peace Bridget. Chicken Girl

so sorry