6 month old hen stumbling, not standing or walking

[beth12980]

Help! My 6 month old black sex link started this 4 days ago. She won’t stand or walk and if she does, she just stumbles forward and falls over. She uses her wings for balance. She will eat and drink fine if we hand feed her. We didn’t feel an egg stuck. We soaked her 2 days ago and she just laid on her side. She’s still pretty alert. She is pooping and now it’s very runny and the most foul smelling. What could be the problem? There are 3 other hens in her flock who are fine. She is separated from them.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Marek's????
@Eggcessive @casportpony @azygous

 

[beth12980]

I don’t think so. She can use her legs. I don’t think there’s paralysis. But idk

 

[Kelliejanine]

Sounds like mareks disease. I have lost one pullet to it and now a cockerel has it. I would give her some extra vitamins and electrolytes in the water if you aren’t already.

 

[Kelliejanine]

I don’t think so. She can use her legs. I don’t think there’s paralysis. But idk

The full paralysis doesn’t come until later. It starts with walking strange and using wings for balance. Eventually they become completely paralyzed and can’t eat or drink resulting in their death. It’s possible she could just have been pecked in her head causing the issue ( I was hoping that was the case with mine but it wasn’t). hopefulky it’s not mareks

 

[beth12980]

Sounds like mareks disease. I have lost one pullet to it and now a cockerel has it. I would give her some extra vitamins and electrolytes in the water if you aren’t already.

Any suggestions on homemade electrolytes?

 

[beth12980]

The full paralysis doesn’t come until later. It starts with walking strange and using wings for balance. Eventually they become completely paralyzed and can’t eat or drink resulting in their death. It’s possible she could just have been pecked in her head causing the issue ( I was hoping that was the case with mine but it wasn’t). hopefulky it’s not mareks

I actually told my daughter it seemed more neurological than anything

 

[Kelliejanine]

Any suggestions on homemade electrolytes?

I ordered mine online, maybe check Pinterest if you’d prefer the homemade route. But I got mine for $10 on amazon to try and help my current cockerel suffering.

 

[Kelliejanine]

I actually told my daughter it seemed more neurological than anything

Definitely try the electrolytes and vitamins then. Hopefully she’ll recover soon

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds and looks like possible Mareks disease. But riboflavin deficiency can also cause walking or sitting on hocks, curled under toes, and lameness. I have a bird right now who I am trying to determine if she has Mareks. She started limping and losing balance, using her wings to get around, and falling backward. After 3.5 weeks, she still moves her legs, can stand and fall backwards, but has no balance at all. Mareks can have differing symptoms in each birds, and there are different strains which are milder than others. It would be good to use some riboflavin (vitamin B 2) found in B Complex or some poultry vitamins, and in liver. B complex 1/4 tablet daily can be crushed into food daily. If it is riboflavin deficiency, you should see some improvement within a week. Here is some reading about Mareks:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/