Paralyzed Chicken

[purfectpet]

Hello Fellow Chicken Lovers,

I have been dealing with a strange incident with my up until last Saturday, a healthy great egg laying Bantum hen. When I went out in the morning, she looked and appeared fine. I left and came back and I caught her falling over on her side. I picked her up and tried to put her back down and she couldn't stand. I immediately took her to my chicken expert at the feed store, but he was baffled by what happened. At first we thought she may had injured herself. She was having struggled breathing with a little gasp like appearance from her beak. Since Saturday, I have put her in a comfortable cage with hay that can help her stay up right. She has actually been able to figure it out on her own with her wings to keep her balance. She wasn't eating much and wouldn't drink water on her own. I used an eye dropper since saturdary. Today is the first day she drinks on her own and is eating much more than I have ever seen. We've been giving her antibiotics in her water. From what I have read, I'm thinking it could be something she ate from the soil. We've had more rain and lots of muddy areas where my chickens free range. So, I'm thinking it could be that. "Botulism". The only other thing I can think of is that maybe she has an egg problem. She had just laid an egg last Saturday before all this happened. She otherwise looks alert and normal except she can't walk. I have had to clean her behind with warm running water, as she still poops, but can't get off of it on her own.

Can anyone help me with suggestions? Thank you so much in advance for any advice. I don't want to loose my chicken. She is my pet and her sister will be very upset if we loose her.

Thanks again,

Karen
www.mypurfectpetsitter.com
Southern California

 

[Patch of Heaven Farm]

So sorry to hear about your hen. Sorry I can't help with the problem. I hope she has a speedy recovery.

 

[MoodyChicken]

So it came on really suddenly? It's probably some kind of poisoning. Do you have any poisonous plants nearby, or is her feed moldy? Is there a musty smell in the coop? Give her small amounts of whole milk, lots of water, and electrolytes. You need to flush the poison from her system. Seeing as it's been 4 days, she should be better by now. If it's poison, she's either suffered irreversible damage or she is still ingesting the poison. Buy new feed and try that.

Botulism is very rare in poultry, especially for backyard keepers.

It's possibly Marek's Disease, but Marek's doesn't usually just BAM NOW YOUR CHICKEN IS SICK.

Keep her warm and calm for sure.

 

[purfectpet]

My hen is still not walking and it's day 4. I have given her antibiotics, electrolytes & vitamins in the water, special egg layer feed, since she doesn't care for the chicken scratch, and I just started a new remedy for the possibility of her having Merak's disease called "Hypericum".

She will eat and drink water on her own. She can move her wings and her legs, but she doesn't get up. She is able to keep them tucked under her, but she has to balance herself with her wings. At the end of the day, I take her in and rinse her behind, so it stays clean. Her stool appears normal.

There are three things we're thinking that could be wrong:
1. Since we've had lots of rain, the ground is very muddy and possibly has fungus and/or bacteria that she could have consumed. However, I can't believe that it would effect her so quickly. There is no poison or poisoness plants any where. The other hen is fine, but she's sad about her step sister. I did notice that she had lots of small pebbles in her stool after I had taken her to my chicken guy who examined her for me. He was baffled.
2. Mareck's disease could be possible since I had a youngster that I had to put down a couple of months ago. She was actually her foster mom and took very good care of all the chicks. Unfortunately, the one I kept was unlucky and I didn't vaccinate which I will in the future.
3. My hen was fine when I went out that morning and I let her out to free range with her adopted sister. I left for only a few minutes (5 at most) and came back to refill water, and I saw that she looked like she got scared and flew a couple of feet and then fell over. One of my pomeranians was ahead of me and I thought that's what scared her. Could she just be in shock? Maybe she thinks she can't get up. I don't know. It's just an observation and hopefully something will change for the better.

If anyone else has any suggestions, please let me know. I will continue what I'm doing.

 

[PQ]

We had a hen the dog attacked she was doing the same thing. He had pounced on her causing a neck damage. Could something have done the same to her. OUr dog is a little fellow 15 pounds but still did the damage. She was doing the same thing even eating and drinking.

 

[Kathelyne]

what ever came of this chicken??? The same thing has happened to one of my BC Marans. We are 3 days into it other than there are no breathing issues, her symptoms are exactly the same.

Any help is appreciated.

Kathy

 

[Wattles]

Yes, I would like to know the outcome of this story too - did your chicken recover? I'm going through the same thing right now with my cochin and I would like to know what happened or what you think was the problem.

 

[WickedGoodFarm]

I'm also having a similar problem with Junior, an Americauna-Golden Laced Wyandotte mix rooster. The noise of his crow changed a few weeks ago, which I thought was strange but not a big deal. Then his father who had been exiled to another part of the barn at night came back to the flock's perch, perhaps knowing that his son was weak. (Que music: "The Circle of Life"). A few days later I found Junior on the ground as I was locking up for the night and when I put him on the perch he was not able to hang on. It's now been six days. He is separated from the flock in a heated tack room and has his own little nest of towels and separate food and water. I have been giving him vitamins in his water by syringe morning and evening since I'm not sure how much he is drinking. His appetite varies, but I've been putting food into his mouth piece by piece twice a day. He did eat on his own last night. I've also added diatomaceous earth to his food in case it's a worm problem and checked him for mites and wounds. He was able to stand and stagger around a few days ago, but now he can't pick himself up. His feet are also cold.

I'm not sure what more to do.

 

[ranchhand]

Hello everybody,

The original poster (OP) of this thread hasn't ever been back for an update, hasn't posted in close to 2 years now.

The best way to get answers in serious situations is to start your own thread in the Emergencies, Injuries and Diseases category, found on the Index page.

Here's a link to the questions we will need answered in order to help you!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3569

 

[Kellyluvschicks]

I think my two young chickens have mareks disease... They are willing to eat and drink but are acting paralyzed! It is so sad and I do not know what to do... Is there a cure? Will they eventually die? They are only 3 months old. They were perfectly fine last Friday and on Saturday morning could not walk. I bought them from a local feed shop and do not know if they were vaccinated. Is there anything I can do?