4 yr old hen not walking, foul droppings?

[keesha63]

Hi,
I have a hen that is 4 yrs old. Acted completely normal until 2 days ago when she seemed very unsteady on her feet. Now worse. Here's her background:

Both legs very strong still. Can stand without problem as long as you steady her. If you remove your hand she falls backwards, actually to the point of sitting on her tail with her legs up in the air. When she tries to right herself she falls sideways.

She is 4 and is currently 3/4 of the way through her annual molt. Normal slow molt that she does each year nothing unusual.

Checked her vent and it's very small. She hasn't laid in about 2 months due to her molt. Checked and not egg bound. Back end not swollen or fluid filled.

Comb and wattles good color. (she is moulting right now so a little paler than usual) checked for lice or mites and none seen.

Dewormed with Valbazen 0.5 mls yesterday in case it was a worm overload but none seen so far.

Appetite not very good. She does not seem to want to drink at all so moistened food given to her for hydration.

Inside the house for the last 2 days so not heat related

Droppings are quite loose and very foul smelling

No respiratory symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, bubbling eyes or open mouth breathing however she does appear to be breathing heavier than she normally does.

Anyone want to throw any ideas out there?

 

[littlefarmgirl9]

I'm sorry, but not sure. Perhaps fowl cholera or botulism?
Botulism sounds more likely. This article might help: https://www.beautyofbirds.com/botulism.html Don't worry, you can't get it from a chicken.
Maybe she has a leg injury. I doubt it, though. Has she been through a traumatic event lately?

 

[keesha63]

Her legs seem perfectly fine. Very strong,no paralysis at all. She kicks them like crazy if you pick her up. They don't even appear weak, just no balance. Botulism tends to either kill fairly fast or they recover. She seems no worse than yesterday. No better either. I first noticed she was off two days ago when I was giving treats. /She seemed fine but when another chicken bumped her she stumbled. I had a hard time catching her. She was laying down a lot but when I would try to pick her up she would run. It was when she was just standing that she was wobbly. Rocking forward and backwards. When I brought her in she was just unsteady on her feet but still walking. Yesterday she was laying down unless I lifted her (like today) and then as long as I kept my hand under her chest she was standing fine but if I moved my hand she would lean back until she fell.

 

[Eggcessive]

It is hard to say why she is so unbalanced. Maybe during the molt, she has not eaten and drunk enough. Have you added any new birds to the flock in the last couple of months that might possibly be carriers of Mareks disease? Some hens with internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis can be unsteady or weak on their feet, and prefer to sit or lie down. One lady on here made a sling out of a small blanket, and used it to walk her chicken around for exercise. That might be good for some leg strengthening exercise each day. Chickens during a molt are usually not great eaters, but perhaps some chopped egg, tuna, or beef liver would be a good snack. Those, plus her chicken feed will be full of vitamins. Hopefully, she will get back to normal soon.

 

[keesha63]

The only new birds are birds I hatched and have just moved from inside my house to that coop a week ago. They are all little spitfires so no signs of Mareks from them or in anyone else. I did question the egg yoke peritonitis since she's had problems with soft shelled eggs over the past 3 1/2 yrs despite additional calcium etc. I don't feel any masses in her back end at all or fluid building up. She's not eating very well at all today although she seems quite content to sit in her sling I made. Her droppings are sooooo foul smelling though. Almost line the smell of a broody? But hers are loose.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have a vet that could look at some droppings? Most can do a fecal float for worms and coccidiosis, and even a gram stain to look for certain bacteria that cause enteritis. What color are the droppings? Pictures of a typical one can help. E.coli in the reproductive system can cause bright yellow droppings. Some feeds have probiotics in them, but if not, you can add a tsp of plain yogurt mixed in daily to her diet.

 

[keesha63]

Yes we have an avian vet fairly close but the problem is they are closed now and they need to send them away unfortunately so tomorrow won't work either. I can bring one to them on Monday but won't get results until Wednesday at the earliest and if there is something they won't prescribe anything without physically seeing the chicken. $70 for visit plus $58 for fecal...plus meds. It's crazy $$$ here. Her droppings are loose greenish and gritty. (however peas are one of the few things she'll eat so might be that as well but I mix them in moisten pellets, tiny bit of rice and tiny bit of hemp seed) I will get her some yogurt she usually like it but she's sooooo picky right now

 

[littlefarmgirl9]

This is probably a bad idea, but maybe she's overweight? You did say she was breathing heavily and having trouble standing alone. Although I guess you'd notice if she's heavier, and they don't get heavier molting...I don't know. Sorry!

 

[keesha63]

She's a standard size bird so she always seems heavy to me. It's possible she's a tad overweight but not much. This seems to be more of a balance issue though than a standing issue. She seems to be able to weight-bear no problem but she tips backwards, then falls sideways.

 

[andreanar]

Maybe the molt is just extra hard on her because of her age?