What To Do When Your Hen Can’t Stand.

We were devastated when our broody hen hatched eggs but couldn’t stand. If you love your hens like we do, injuries are a big setback, especially if it involves a broody hen. We have just one broody whose 3 years old and she’s very valuable to us. She’s a good layer, and a great mom. Having gotten to really know her since her injury, she also has a wonderful personality. I thought I read all there was out there regarding nesting hens. I never found any information on what we experienced.

Last summer, our broody hen Darlene hatched a clutch of four eggs for the first time. With my lack experience with nesting hens, I just didn’t see the warning signs. Darlene was so committed to hatching her eggs, she neglected her own health. She didn’t eat and didn’t get up everyday and she became malnourished and too weak to stand.

After her eggs hatched, she never stood, she scooted around on her haunches. After a week of her doing this, I picked her up to examine her. Her breast was extremely bony and her hocks were massively scraped up.

We were horrified when we discovered this and immediately brought her and the chicks into the house. Brian set a tote up so she could have support. Then we put the chicks in a clear tote next to her so they could all see and hear each other.

What We Did To Help Our Hen Stand

Darlene was surprisingly mellow as long as she could see her chicks. We left her in the tote for a few weeks to just eat and drink as much as she wanted. I’d make her scrambled eggs, give her soldier flies and give her apple treats with strawberries and greens from the garden. We’d take her out a few times a day to lay down so she could change position.

I wanted her to start getting exercise so Brian built her a PVC walker patterned after one I saw on the internet. I made her some fleece slings and I cut holes for her legs and vent. Then we attached a food and water bowl to the front bar. After I put her in the walker, Darlene was so much happier. She could move around if she wanted and it was better than sitting inside a tote. It was a great way for her to get exercise and strengthen her legs. She especially enjoyed sitting outside on the lawn to soak up some sun and watch the other chickens.

It took a few months for her hocks to heal up and she still had pain in one of her legs. I started her on vitamin B12 for nerve and bone health. I used the homeopathic remedy hypericum perforatum which is the St. Johnswort plant for nerve pain. I researched it on one of the homeopathic sites I looked at. Homeopathicremediesblog.com . It took a week or so but it really helped and pretty soon she was climbing out of her walker. That signaled to me she was ready for the next step!

A Little Improvement And A lot Of Determination To Stand And Walk

I took her out of her walker at least once a day to help her stand. Gradually she got her balance back enough that she could stand on her own to preen herself. However walking was still a problem. She would try to take a step and fall on her face. She got pretty good at catching herself. She could even get back up but all she could do is take small steps to turn herself. Darlene was very determined, but it was painful for her. That girl just worked through it.

Darlene standing on her own 4 months after her injury and taking a ride in the car

New Information And A New Plan For Pain And Inflammation

It’s been six months now and Darlene is still experiencing pain, but thanks to the St.Johnswort homeopathic, she deals with the pain better. She developed a bony overgrowth on the inside of her hock joint that causes her a lot of discomfort. We asked the farm vet to come out (yes, it was expensive) and the vet thought it was probably a little arthritic due to the injury. Now that I know what I’m dealing with, I can really target the problem.

My plan now is to try another homeopathic called Bryonia Alba. Bryonia Alba is good for pain and inflammation of arthritis. https://homeopathicremediesblog.com The vet also gave her a low dose of Meloxicam which I would like to replace with homeopathy. It’s never good to mix the two forms of medication and I’m not a big fan of chemical meds.

Living With The Injury and A Hope For The Future

We aren’t giving up on Darlene. She’s part of our family and is very mellow. She may be on pain medication from here on out but I’ll continue to work with her balance so she feels she has a degree of independence.

We take her in the car with us whenever we go places. When she’s home home alone, she tends to get herself into trouble. One time I found her under the bed when I came home. She seems to enjoy car rides anyway. She chats and eats the whole time. When she sees birds out the window she cranes her neck and growls at them.

Her favorite thing to do in summer is hang out on the deck and hunt mosquitoes. Here in Alaska there’s no shortage of those and she did a good job of keeping he back door free of them!

My hope is to give her a good life that is relatively pain free. I don’t know if she’ll ever walk again, but she’s a healthy girl in every other respect. This spring when we get chicks, she can help us raise them.

And I don’t know if she’ll go broody again this summer. That will be a bridge we cross if we get to it.

If you want to know how to care for your broody hens health see my blog on The Best Way To Keep Your Broody Hen Healthy