My chickens can't walk

[Raynathecrazychickenlady]

About 3 months. i have been feeding her a organic layer feed and i give them barley once a day, although lately it has been kind on moldy. My pullet can eat and drink as long as it is next to her, she can still move but not get up or stand. I used the diatomaceous earth on both of them yesterday and the leghorn perked up a bit after that, started eating. i came by this morning and she was opening and closing her mouth like she had a tough time breathing. i tried to get her some water but she wouldn't drink. I had a wyandotte rooster last fall that got paralyzed in one wing and leg, i thought for sure it was Marek's but no one else got sick, and this is different, she isn't paralyzed.

Hi, what ever happened with your chicken? Mine is experiencing the same thing and I think it’s MS. She eats and drinks but gapes a bit and has a weird yell/cough? She can hardly walk and I just don’t know what to do.

 

[ChewBokBok]

How fast was she not able to walk? I think my chickens had MS as well because they ate some mold, but my leghorn hen had joint issues before. I gave them starter feed for the extra protein. You could give her mealworms just to get her to eat more but they tend to just go right through them. I had them separated just in case it was something else but all my other chickens are completely fine, still its better to be careful. I don't think it's mareks disease because they didn't seem paralyzed, it seemed like they were to weak or couldn't coordinate their legs enough to stand. Hope this helps.

 

[Raynathecrazychickenlady]

How fast was she not able to walk? I think my chickens had MS as well because they ate some mold, but my leghorn hen had joint issues before. I gave them starter feed for the extra protein. You could give her mealworms just to get her to eat more but they tend to just go right through them. I had them separated just in case it was something else but all my other chickens are completely fine, still its better to be careful. I don't think it's mareks disease because they didn't seem paralyzed, it seemed like they were to weak or couldn't coordinate their legs enough to stand. Hope this helps.

I think mine is definitely Mareks at this point. She flops around like she’s drunk and now her left wing juts down and her left leg splays out in front. Seeing her this morning- I’ve decided to take her to be euthanized and necropsied. She’s suffering and I can’t keep her around just for me. This is so devastating!!

 

[Songbird21]

DE is not a nice thing for chickens to breathe. It's basically shards of super thin glass.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/the-cut-dry-truth-about-diatomaceous/

What about food grade?

 

[Shezadandy]

What about food grade?

Food grade DE is still DE. (the article specifically mentions food grade DE)- bad for bees too!

https://the-chicken-chick.com/the-cut-dry-truth-about-diatomaceous/