4 month old sussex hen can't stand up

[Mysto]

Sweet Pea is smaller than the rest of the flock and I caught another hen really "beating her up". She was laying on her side when I shoo'd the bully hen away..when she got up, she was favoring one leg. I separated her from the others and now she's having trouble walking at all. I have her in the house in a very warm bathroom, in a small cardboard box so she can't move around a lot, she's eating (chick starter mixed with flax seeds, crushed Purina Kitten Chow and rolled oats) and she takes water if I hold a dish up for her. If she tries to walk, she steps one foot on top of the other and tips over. By suggestion of a fellow BYC poster, I started giving her Poly-Vi-Sol tonight. Anything else I can try for little Sweet Pea??

 

[thewarriorchild]

can you post a picture? try and make it so she doent have to walk much. Put the food dishes close to her and keep her warm and keep giving the vitamins.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

I would highly suggest you read up on Mareks. Laying on the side, not being able to walk, and favoring one leg sounds a lot like the leg paralysis that Mareks can sometimes cause.

 

[Mysto]

thanks for your replies. Her condition remains the same - although it's only been 2 days of vitamins

I'm not sure it's Mareks (not ruling it out yet) but since she started limping AFTER she was 'beat up' by another hen. Maybe the other hen was pecking at her because she was weaked from mareks, but I hadn't seen the signs of it yet?

A couple days ago, she had light brown diarrhea, now her poo is normal color (greenish with white), just not as firm as normal. She is eating and drinking, but I have to hold her up.

If it's mareks, when could i expect to see signs of it in the other hens??

 

[MoodyChicken]

It sounds more like an injury more than Marek's Disease. Birds with Marek's either can't stand at all or they drag their leg, they don't favor it. Check for any odd lumps or angles around the hip and hock joint. Feel the muscles carefully too. Compare her to your other hens if you're not sure how it should feel. Go ahead and give her hypericum (go to my website linked below for dosage, poultry health > supportive therapy > green treats and homeopathic remedies) though, it'll treat for pain or for paralysis. So it'll help her either way.

The incubation period for Marek's Disease is 2 weeks, but it's found in the soil so it's a 99% chance that the rest of your birds and your sick bird have had it since they touched the soil as chicks. Only a few birds succumb to the symptoms.

 

[SussexInSeattle]

I don't have any advice, just wanted to say that I am sorry about your poor girl. I found one of my sussex out in the yard next to the house one night and she could not perch on the roosting bars when I carried her to the barn so I placed her on a shelf for the night but by morning she had passed. She was about the same age as yours but I didn't think one of my others beat her up, she simply faded away in 24 hours. I don't exactly know what she had.

 

[Mysto]

She was not interested in food or water this morning. i tried scarmbled egg with plain yogurt (which she devoured the night before) and she didn't even have 1 bite. I gave her hypericum tonight, then offered food/water, but again not interested. I left her alone for about an hour, then offered her a piece of bread and she ate almost 1/2 a slice. Used a syringe to put water drops on her beak. When she was done with the bread, she wanted to sleep. Her legs don't seem to be any better/worse. From what I can tell, nothing seems out of the norm on her legs (i.e. no protrusions, bumps, etc)..she is thin though. I'll continue with poly-vi-sol 1x day and hypericum 2x day...and I guess feed her what ever she will eat?

 

[chickenworld]

Hello Mysto, we also had one little hen who for some or other reason completely lost the use of her legs. We were pretty much doing the same as you (Vit supplements/antibiotics, keeping her warm, providing easy access to food and water). It's taken about two months, and now she is at last starting to walk and perch again (although we are still keeping her separate from the other hens until she can effectively handle the usual pecking order). There were many times where we seriously considered putting her down, but just today she was so cheerful walking around like a normal hen. Although your chicken may not have the same thing, I just thought I'd let you know that as long as your little one is eating and drinking (and showing you that she wants to live), just try to hang in there! Wishing you and her lots of good luck!

chickenworld

 

[Mysto]

I'm glad your hen is happy again...that really gives me hope for for my girl...thank you SO much!

 

[horsejody]

If it is Marek's they can often go into remission and walk again if they are given intensive care. It can take days, weeks or months. The bird will always be a carrier and may have a reoccurance. They often walk with a limp after a bout with Marek's. Most of the time (not always) Marek's starts with the left leg. Good luck, and I hope it's not Marek's.