Need advice

Hi all,

I have a 5 month old chicken that had issues in the southern California heat last weekend. This is my third to go down in heat. Normally, they are not able to use their legs. This particular chicken seems to have a problem with her wing as it was dragging. I took her to an avian vet last Monday and the vet did not find any problems but splinted her up. She refused to stand with the splint. She pecked it off within hours. I have tried splinting her several times but she refuses to stand when I do so. So now I have taped up her wing with masking tape and vet tape that only sticks to itself. She is eating and drinking. Bright green poop.

I am so confused because she is up and walking on some days and refuses to use her legs on others. When she is down her toes curl up and her legs seem unusable - like the two others that I lost in the past. This was the case yesterday. Today she is up again clucking, standing and walking a bit. The vet told me it could be neurological. My question is - should I have her put down? She is a sweetheart and I want to keep her alive if it is just a physical issue that will get better. But, will she? Is there any way to tell (aside from an X Ray) if this problem is neurological? Thanks in advance.

Welcome to BYC. It sounds like she could have Mareks disease or a vitamin B2 (riboflavin) deficiency. I would start poultry vitamins right away that contain riboflavin (not Poultry Nutri-drench.) You can even use human BComplex tabs, riboflavin, or Nutritional Yeast. Do you know if she was vaccinated for Mareks?

Thank you for your response. I will get the vitamin B2 to have on hand here for the future. I just got back from the vet. They put her down. Saddest thing I have had to do in a while. They also think Marek's is a possibility. I do not think the hatchery where she was purchased from vaccinates. However, I did lose a chicken last year that I suspected had Marek's but I was told she was vaccinated by the feed store where she was purchased. Who knows? I sure hope it's not Marek's though. This chicken illness stuff is for the birds!

I'm sorry for your loss. In California you can get a necropsy done free up to 2 birds in a year. That can tell you if it was Mareks. If you have another sick one, that would be something to check into.

Hi neighbor! I'm so sorry that happened. We can sure loose chickens really fast to heat in our unique environment! The symptoms you described for this hen aren't consistent with heat distress. If you choose to, here is a link for our local necropsy info. file:///C:/Users/sheri/Downloads/CAHFS_NecropsyFactsheet.pdf