whats wrong with my hen? *video* unbalanced...NEW VIDEO~post#385

[valsey]

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That's what I have been saying and have posted several times.

 

[valsey]

I just spoke with the state poultry veterinarian. He said it would be nearly impossible to have a bird with vitamin B deficiency unless you were deliberately starving the bird or the bird was getting something that was blocking the absorption of the B vitamin. He said B vitamins were readily available in grain, corn, grass, etc.

From Merck Vet manual:
Thiamine Deficiency
Polyneuritis in birds represents the later stages of a thiamine deficiency, probably caused by buildup of the intermediates of carbohydrate metabolism. In the initial stages of deficiency, lethargy and head tremors may be noted. A marked decrease in appetite is also seen in birds fed a thiamine-deficient diet. Poultry are also susceptible to neuromuscular problems, resulting in impaired digestion, general weakness, star-gazing, and frequent convulsions.

Polyneuritis may be seen in mature birds ~3 wk after they are fed a thiamine-deficient diet. As the deficiency progresses to the legs, wings, and neck, birds may sit on flexed legs and draw back their heads in a star-gazing position. Retraction of the head is due to paralysis of the anterior neck muscles. Soon after this stage, chickens lose the ability to stand or sit upright and topple to the floor, where they may lie with heads still retracted. Thiamine deficiency may also lead to a decrease in body temperature and respiratory rate. Testicular degeneration may be noted, and the heart may show slight atrophy. Birds consuming a thiamine-deficient diet soon show severe anorexia. They lose all interest in feed and will not resume eating unless given thiamine. If a severe deficiency has developed, thiamine must be force-fed or injected to induce eating.

He misunderstood me at first and thought I said vitamin D deficiency. For that he said there is a problem...Cage Layer Fatigue
http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/dismisc.htm

He said that ALL chickens have been exposed to Lymphoid Leukosis and that it is always there and sometimes it can just turn 'on', sometimes not - usually around 4-5 years old.

 

[epitidios]

Yvonne what is Mollasas? Some kind of supplement?

 

[chickfan]

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You can view all the posts you have started by clicking on your profile. Is this the post you started where the syndrome is mentioned?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=371501&p=1

The post you mentioned was not mine. Actually a thread I started was "Barred Rock seems crippled", but then found there was another thread going about this problem. I went back and tried to read what had been posted and got bogged down with too many, so I gave up.
Lobzi was the one that gave information about the Vitamin B. Seems like I remember "Lymphoid Leukosis" being mentioned, but now I'm not even sure. I'm going to read about this now. I would really like to understand more about what happens with this and why the Vitamin B works.

 

[Yvonne37894]

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Molasses - for cooking with, I use the brand that says SLOW AS MOLASSES in the lable

On BYC in search you can find how to use it for a flush. I think I got it from Speckled hen

 

[valsey]

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Yes - that was the one. I must have posted the wrong link.

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Vitamin B doesn't work for Lymphoid Leukosis. That cannot be cured...especially not with vitamins. Whoever cures their chicken with vitamin B must have something else. I beleive it might be a thiamine deficiency...see my previous post

 

[Tomhusker]

Just a follow up on my JG chick. This morning I returned him to his girls in good shape, if a little rough from life in the brooder box. He is walking tall, with the occasional stumble, but so improved that I couldn't see keeping him boxed up any longer. In my first post I mentioned his inability to fly up into the coop at lock up. Tonight I stayed outside and watched as he sized up the door, walked around a couple of times, then flapped his wings. He then squatted down and jumped right up. He proceeded to walk thru the coop, out the pop door and around to the door and repeat the same thing 2 more times. He was not up on the roost when I locked up, but expect he will be once he realizes the window he used to sleep in is now closed.

My plan is to continue vitamin B thru watering, adding it to all of the water jugs in the yard every morning. I am not sure if it breaks down during the day though.

I am glad I found this thread and am amazed at the outcome. I was completely prepared to put this little fella down. If I knew anybody in this area who had chickens, you could bet I would be telling them about it.

 

[chickfan]

What a great thing to hear!! It really is amazing. I googled Lymphoid Leukosis or whatever it was....I've thrown my note away now. Those symptoms didn't go with the way my chicken was acting (after all the TLC I gave her, and since she is a BR, of course her name is Barbara!). So I still wonder if there is a word for it. Whatever it is, I'm so glad that so many of us have had good results. Maybe we should say "so far, so good" since we don't know what caused it or if there is something else still going on. I'll take what I can get though. Barbara sits at the opening of her pop door every evening...the others that go into her coop are already in. I go to her and rub her a bit, and we talk a little bit, and then I push her in and cover the door. I do think she has been jumping up on the roost though. She jumps up on a cage we have sitting in the yard, so at least she can jump and can get down. The roost isn't too much higher.
Making a note to read up on Lithium deficiency. I have a dog that was just diagnosed with cancer, so will be going to the vet next week to have sutures removed. I'll pick his brain a bit, and see if he has an idea. He doesn't normally see chickens in his practice, but did have one lady that spent a fortune bringing her fowl to him, he said.

 

[valsey]

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I googled it too. Many times. Rarely was the symptom 'unbalance' mentioned. Also, my hen was hardly wasting. Yet there it it - right there in the necropsy. She was full of tumors. That's pretty good proof, I'd say


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I guess you must mean Thiamin deficiency...?

 

[valsey]

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That is fantastic news! I hope he continues to improve - keep us posted.

So what do you think? If the bitamin B saved him, was he deficient? And if so...why?