Neurological problem with young pullet

[kshamric]

I have a young Delaware pullet. I bought all of my young hens in march/april as day old chicks. This little girl started stumbling, falling down and almost like she could see the best, a few weeks ago. I removed her from the flock and but her in a cage by herself. After about 4 days she was acting like normal, so I put her back out in the main pen.

Its been about a week since she has been with the rest of my pullets and now this girl has gotten worse. She acted fine yesterday. Today she is falling down, staggering like a drunkard, can't find the feed in the feeder, tries to walk threw the feeder. I am worried about her.

When I put her back in the cage by herself she had to have my help to find the feed. She will pick the haystring I just to tie the feeder to the cage, the hay in the bottom or even pick at the air. I think she was trying to eat but just no where near the feed. She is super sweet and gentle and knows the sound of my voice so she come to me for help.

Does anyone have any ideas what I could be dealing with and possibly how I would treat this? I don't want to lose her, if there is a chance to save her. I don't care how slim a chance as long if its a chance. Also none of the other chickens are acting like this.

 

[JeanR]

Marek's Disease can have these symptoms. No treatment or cure. Sometimes they recover, if you can keep her eating and drinking. If it is Marek's, they all are exposed, but may not show symptoms. Pullets usually show it at time of the first egg or eggs (cockerels, younger). She may recover or may just go down and die. It is not painful and they simply do not know what has happened, just frustration. Blindness is just one type of symptom, not all have that one. Usually it is a limp on one leg (chickens rarely injure their legs) then both legs limp and the bird goes down--still trying to reach food ad water. Then, either recovery or sudden death. As long as it has gone on this long, just do your best to keep her finding her food and water and not let the other birds savage her, as this is common if one bird is not acting right--seems to be an instinct to "get rid of it" before it affects the others--but may not happen to yours. Marek's is a long lived virus and IF it is, you will have it for years. I vaccinate my chicks at hatch (easy) or only purchase vaccinated birds. Some breeds may have a developed immunity to Marek's, but how do we know, if it doesn't show up for several years??? The virus is not carried in the eggs, if you hatch. Hope she recovers, good luck!!!!

 

[kshamric]

Thanks for your reply. Yes I have had older hens kill each other before so at the first sign of a hen acting "off" they are out of the pen and into the "hospital" as my daughter calls its . I bought over 50 chicks total this year from TSC (Murray McMurray Hatchery chicks), Our local feed store (Crackle Hatchery chicks), and from another feed store (Ideal Hatchery chicks). I doubt any of them where vaccinated for marek's either. I will keep a eye on her, pamper her, and hope for the best if it is that. We have been very luck I guess because we really have never had many sick chickens. We have lost a few to heat or a server case of peeking order, but only maybe 4 to sickness in our 10 years of raising chickens here at our new place. Most we ever lost was the 4 nights 2 coyotes almost wiped us out before we got the coyotes.

 

[kshamric]

Here are a couple of head shots of her. She has a blueish color around her eyes and between her toes.