Strange sickness

Hi guys! I'm very new to chickens (this is my first year having them). I am clueless on what this could be and hoping all you knowledgeable folks can give me an idea on what to do.

I had a hen a few weeks back who appeared to have an injured wing. It was like she couldn't hold it up. I tried wrapping it to help it heal but it didn't work. Within a week or two she bagan losing her balance like her equilibrium was thrown out of wack. Once that happened it was days later that she seemed to become paralyzed except for the occasion shake like a seizure. I had my brother in law kill her so she wasn't suffering once I realized it was past saving. She also had several bloody poops.

Fast forward to a week ago. One of my roosters appeared to have an injured leg which soon turned into both legs and unable to keep his balance and now his wings are droopy. I'm assuming he has the same as my hen although I had really hoped it wasn't something that was contagious. The only difference is that with him it started in his balance and not his wing. He has not had the bloody poop or paralysis yet. I'm hoping there is someone who recognizes these symptoms and can give me something to do to try and save him rather than kill him. I'm very attached to my two roosters and I'm terrified that my big guy (my other rooster) will eventually get sick as well. I don't know what it could be in an otherwise healthy flock. Could it be something in my ground? Or maybe the two of them getting sick is unrelated? Any ideas?

Could it be worms. You could try deworming them. Use Panacure. It is a blue and white tube for deworming horses. You can give them 1/4 mL once. This works with my chickens.

I didn't think of worms. Could worms cause them to become unbalanced?

jrogers87 said:

Hi guys! I'm very new to chickens (this is my first year having them). I am clueless on what this could be and hoping all you knowledgeable folks can give me an idea on what to do.

I had a hen a few weeks back who appeared to have an injured wing. It was like she couldn't hold it up. I tried wrapping it to help it heal but it didn't work. Within a week or two she bagan losing her balance like her equilibrium was thrown out of wack. Once that happened it was days later that she seemed to become paralyzed except for the occasion shake like a seizure. I had my brother in law kill her so she wasn't suffering once I realized it was past saving. She also had several bloody poops.

Fast forward to a week ago. One of my roosters appeared to have an injured leg which soon turned into both legs and unable to keep his balance and now his wings are droopy. I'm assuming he has the same as my hen although I had really hoped it wasn't something that was contagious. The only difference is that with him it started in his balance and not his wing. He has not had the bloody poop or paralysis yet. I'm hoping there is someone who recognizes these symptoms and can give me something to do to try and save him rather than kill him. I'm very attached to my two roosters and I'm terrified that my big guy (my other rooster) will eventually get sick as well. I don't know what it could be in an otherwise healthy flock. Could it be something in my ground? Or maybe the two of them getting sick is unrelated? Any ideas?

Click to expand...

How old are your chickens? I would suspect Mareks disease, but there could be other things causing the symptoms. Dehydration, mold in the feed, heavy metal poisoning, and eating something containing poison could be things to rule out first. Mareks symptoms include loss of balance, weakness or paralysis of one or both legs or wings, and sometimes a twisted or limp neck. Sometimes there can be eye changes. They can suffer from immunity to common diseases such as coccidiosis or others. It can only best be diagnosed with a necropsy (chicken autopsy) by a poultry lab or vet. I'm sorry for your loss, but you should try and send in a body or two for a necropsy, if you lose another. Here are some links to click on for your state vet or poultry lab:

http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

Click to expand...

Here is some reading about Mareks disease:
https://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq