HELP--OEGB pullet can't walk all of a sudden--HELPPPP

[Lroach711]

Ok I need advice. I moved my OEGB pair to their new coop this afternoon. They had been staying in the barn up until this point. They were FINE when I left at 4:30. Now, I get home and go check on them...the roo is fine but Dasiy my pullet can't walk. She just kicks her legs back. I brought her in and am keeping her in a dog kennel. I mean she has NEVER acted at all sick. She's a frisky little thing. There is a big temperature difference from where they were staying to the coop they're in now. Could she just be too cold?? I'm freaking out because they are some of the only chickens I have my DH actually likes. She seems alert and everything. She was shaking and breathing kind of hard when I first brought her in. Now she seems to have calmed down as far as the shaking and breathing goes but if I try to stand her up, her legs just kick back.

hellllp

 

[JenniferNgo]

Hmm...wow. I would start looking for exposure to poisonous plants or chemicals. Search for injuries and parasites. Feel around her backside for eggs not passed or any masses in her underside (soft shelled eggs can get backed up in there if they aren't passed). Investigate the poop! The poop holds many keys to chicken diagnosis! Check the eyes with a flashlight, if the pupils don't respond or respond very slowly there is neurological damage. If they respond normally and quickly you can almost completely rule that out (I said almost...) Make sure you don't have rat/mouse poison set out, chickens can and do eat mice occasionally and if one of the mice ate the poison then your bird ate the mouse...well you know...

Make sure she has plenty of vitamins in her water (sav-a-chick or ViTal) even sugar for energy. LOTS of greens! Chickens are susceptible to illness because they don't have a lot of blood to clean out their system so they need all the help flushing they can get.

It could really be anything from an injury to a tumor. Without actually seeing the bird in detail it would be very hard to diagnose as it doesn't sound like any classic symptoms of common illnesses.

Have you googled it? It could be a secondary response to something else that a google search could bring up

Best of luck, I know it's hard when you don't know what to do for them... b

 

[Lroach711]

Quote:
Thank you! She seems alert and has stopped trembling. She is eating so I'm hoping maybe she just got too cold. This is the first time they were put in their new coop..but the only things I can think of that are different are new pine shavings and the temperature difference. I appreciate the advice.

 

[Lroach711]

Anybody think this could be Mareks? She's never shown any symptoms like this before. I read that leg paralysis is a symptom of Mareks.

 

[nittanyxi]

Mareks was the first thing I though of because of the leg issue. Although I have never had a hen with Mareks and don't know very much about it. If both of them have been exposed to the same thing and only one is having problems I wouldn't think it was something she ate as I would have expected them both to have eaten similar things. I guess it could be possible that she had mareks but was not showing signs of it and the stress of the move along with the temperature change allowed the symtoms to show. Leg parallasys just seems odd for a reaction to a new coop and cold weather. Hopefully I'm wrong as I really dont know anything about mareks.

 

[Da chicken farm]

Once, one of my easter eggers, Samantha, stopped walking and she walked like she was pinned as if her legs couldnt stretch out. She was alert but bearly walking. Thankfully, Sammy got better after a few days break and has not had that problem. (Hope I didnt jinx it :]) Oh and by the way, I have an Australorp named Daisy, the chubbiest little hen you ever saw!

 

[Lroach711]

Thanks y'all. She was actually standing on both legs this morning but was still a little wobbly. I'm just glad she's standing on her own now!

maybe it was some fluke thing. I guess it could have been a combination of stress, cold, and maybe she got injured.

 

[Lroach711]

Daisy was back to normal after one day of being inside

I kept her in for another day just to make sure but she's doing great now! I guess it was just some fluke thing!