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

[valsey]

Quote:
I am not an expert, but in the video, she does not look like she's having a seizure at all. She looks like she wants to walk, attempts to walk and then loses control of her legs. They aren't supporting her and she loses control. I would guess it's a disease that is causing neurological problems. And that could be anything.

You've tried B, correct? That should have shown improvement within days. Botulism would have passed by now. So wouldn't logic say it's neither of these things?

Surely you have a state veterinarian. Have you called them? Have you called your dept of agriculture? They may see the video and give you a much better idea of what you're dealing with ...better than all of our guesses.

 

[valsey]

For the folks on this thread with young chicks suffering from imbalance, etc. - is this a possibility?

Chickenlvr97 - there are other diseases listed in this article you might want to research.
Hope this helps.

By the way - I lost another hen to Lymphoid Leukosis yesterday - at least that's the preliminary diagnosis the state vet made.



Avian Encephalomyelitis: Introduction
(Epidemic tremor)

Avian encephalomyelitis is a worldwide viral disease of Japanese quail, turkeys, chickens, and pheasants, characterized by ataxia and tremor of the head, neck, and limbs. Ducklings, pigeons, and guinea fowl are susceptible to experimental infection. The causative picornavirus can be grown in chicken embryos from nonimmune hens. It is transmitted for ~1 wk through a portion of eggs laid by infected hens, and then spreads laterally in the hatcher or brooder to susceptible hatchmates.

Clinical Findings:
Signs commonly appear at 7-10 days of age, although they may be present at hatching or delayed for several weeks. The main signs are unsteadiness, sitting on hocks, paresis, and even complete inability to move. Muscular tremors are best seen after exercising the bird; holding the bird on its back in the cupped hand helps in detection. Typically, about 5% of the flock is affected, although morbidity and mortality may be much higher. The disease in adult birds is inapparent except for a transient drop in egg production. The disease in turkeys is often milder than in chickens.

Lesions:
No gross lesions of the nervous system are seen. Lymphocytic accumulations in the gizzard muscle may be visible as grayish areas. Lens opacities may develop weeks after infection. Microscopic lesions in the CNS consist of neuronal axon-type degeneration (“ghost” cells) in the brain, particularly in the brain stem and in the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord. Gliosis and lymphocytic perivascular cuffing can also be seen. Visceral microscopic lesions consist of lymphoid follicles in the muscular tissue of the gizzard, proventriculus, and myocardium, while numerous lymphoid follicles can be found in the pancreas.

Diagnosis:
Avian encephalomyelitis must be differentiated from avian encephalomalacia (vitamin E deficiency), rickets, vitamin B1 or B2 deficiency, Newcastle disease, eastern encephalitis, Marek’s disease, and encephalitis caused by bacteria, fungi (eg, aspergillosis), or mycoplasmas. Diagnosis is based on history, signs, and histologic study of brain, spinal cord, proventriculus, gizzard, and pancreas. Virus isolation in eggs free of avian encephalomyelitis antibody is sometimes necessary for confirmation. Serologic testing of paired samples is helpful, using virus neutralization or ELISA tests. Microscopic lesions are sparse and may not be found in infected adults.

Prevention and Treatment:
Immunization of breeder pullets 10-15 wk old with a commercial live vaccine is advised to prevent vertical transmission of the virus to progeny and to provide them with maternal immunity against the disease. Vaccination of table-egg flocks is also advisable to prevent a temporary drop in egg production. Affected chicks and poults are ordinarily destroyed because few recover. A combination vaccine for fowlpox and avian encephalomyelitis for wing-web administration is widely used. The disease does not affect humans or other mammals.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/205300.htm

 

[Miss Lydia]

valsey sorry to hear you lost another one. Does this mean your going to lose your whole flock? How many do you have left? LL is mostly in older chickens? Is it hens or both sexes? by the way the merck manuel is something a of us should be using. thanks for putting it up.

 

[Miss Lydia]

98, sure wish there was something we all could do for your hen, seems like as long as she has had this that it's not something thats going to pass to the rest of the flock. If you never find out what this is and you want to keep her till she goes then just try to make her as comfortable as possible. Putting her in a smaller coop will most likely be for the best, You know it has to be hard for her trying to walk especially if it's neuralogical [sp] Hopefully having a smaller area where she can get around will help. Maybe your next step should be state Vet as valsey said. It's so sad,

 

[valsey]

http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/dphp/phm/personnel.html

also:
NCDA&CS Veterinary Division, Dr. David Marshall, DVM, State Veterinarian
Mailing Address:1030 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1030
Physical Address: 2 W. Edenton Street, Raleigh, NC 27601
Phone: (919) 733-7601; FAX: (919) 733-2277

 

[valsey]

Quote:
I don't think the whole flock will succumb. It's my understanding that all chickens have it - it's in their DNA - that's what the state vet said. I started out with 24 hens in spring of '06, then got 24 more in '07. I'm down to 15 now. I would guess that 25 were not due to disease, but predators. So what's my ratio here? Started with 48, lost 25 to hawks etc. - that leaves 23. I have 15 left of those 23, which leaves 8. Of those 8, we can be reasonably sure 3 have died of LL. Would that be 8 out of 48, or 8 out of 23? I don't know. Still lousy numbers no matter how you do the math...

Yes - mostly in older chickens. I would imagine it effects roosters as well

The merck manual is hard for me to understand, but priceless...

 

[Miss Lydia]

If the merck manuel is hard for you then I doubt It'll help me. But thank goodness so far haven't had to use it. Today my little pullet became a hen, she was hatched in late march. I was thinking because it's getting cold here they wouldn't start to lay till spring. I woud like to know about LL at what age was yours when she actually came down with it? most of my chickens are 1 year and younger but I have 1 hen thats probably 18 mos. to 2 years. so sorry this is happening to your flock I guess if it's in their dna then it's something we all could have to deal with eventually.

 

[oliviad51]

Valsey, who do you think I should send the email to? Or should I email them all?

 

[valsey]

Quote:
I would call them all until I find out which vet you can talk to. Email might get lost in the shuffle. Once you've spoken with someone THEn send them a link to your video - that says so much. You may not get any answers at all, but I can'tstress enough what a great help the GA vet has been. Answers his cell and everything!

 

[oliviad51]

Well the problem with calling people is that I'm only 13 years old. I don't think they would take me seriously and take their time to talk with me and email me.
I may be wrong, but I would much rather email. I you strongly think I should still talk to them first, I could get my dad to talk to them. He is around this hen too and knows how she acts as well.