Anything else I can do for my sick hen?

[carlaashdown]

I've been treating this hen for over two months now. I just want to see if anyone has any advice or suggestions on what else I can do for her.


2-year-old California White hen (California grey and White Leghorn mix).

A year ago, she had a vitamin deficiency (weak, stargazing, etc.) that improved after 3ish weeks of quarantine and vitamins (Poultry Cell, B complex, vitamin e)

Two months ago, while molting, she started with similar symptoms. No stargazing this time, but her head/neck is slightly turned to one side and she shakes her head/neck when trying to move it. Generalized weakness for first couple weeks. Will improve then regress. Now, she is ataxic - very unsteady, uncoordinated, appears drunk, falls. She startles easily.

She is eating and drinking fine on her own.
She is laying eggs almost daily.
She is alert.
Poop is normal.
Molting ended and completed growing in new feathers.
No wing paralysis.


Treating with:
Poultry Cell in her water. Adding HydroHen sometimes.
Vitamin E and crushed B Complex mixed in her food (wet mash or scrambled egg) every morning before giving her the dry feed.
Scrambled egg daily

When she was first sick and weak, I had to syringe water and vitamins into her. She improved, so I stopped and just added it to her food/water. She has been so uncoordinated the last couple weeks that I started administering the vitamins by syringe again at night.

I am feeding her the same food as her flock but mixing it half and half with Purina Flock Raiser. I tried feeding her just the flock raiser alone (so she wouldn't lay), but she wouldn't eat the plain flock raiser. She eats fine with the mixture.

I gave her a dewormer when this first started.
No mites, lice, etc.


Flock details:
Has 15 other hens in flock, no one else is sick.
Flock's feed: Nutrena NatureWise Hearty Hen layer pellets mixed with Nutrena NatureWise layer crumble, Cluck & Co scratch grains (small amount), dried herbs (organically grown, harvested, and dried by me), and baked/crushed egg shell.
Once a week, I feed them scrambled eggs.
Once a week, they get sprouted grains/seeds.
Treats: dried mealworms - twice a week
Coop and run: 600 sq ft total - covered


Suggestions??

We don't have a poultry vet near us. There is an exotic/avian vet about an hour away that I made an appointment with for next week (they are expensive though). I really want to see if there is anything else I can do, or if she is just not going to improve. I don't want her to suffer.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would try to get her back on just layer feed or the flock raiser, since those are perfectly balanced for vitamins and minerals. Have you ever had any unexpected deaths or symptoms of Mareks in your flock? I had a hen ( vaccinated for Mareks) who became unbalanced and could not remain upright for over a month. After feeding her twice daily with watery chicken feed and egg, plus NutriDrench, she suddenly walked out of her nest and lived for another 18 months. If you should lose her I would recommend having a necropsy done to look for any diseases.

 

[carlaashdown]

I would try to get her back on just layer feed or the flock raiser, since those are perfectly balanced for vitamins and minerals. Have you ever had any unexpected deaths or symptoms of Mareks in your flock? I had a hen ( vaccinated for Mareks) who became unbalanced and could not remain upright for over a month. After feeding her twice daily with watery chicken feed and egg, plus NutriDrench, she suddenly walked out of her nest and lived for another 18 months. If you should lose her I would recommend having a necropsy done to look for any diseases.

Thank you for replying.

No unexpected deaths or any other sick chickens.

Mine had similar issues last May (2022) and recovered after 3ish weeks of separation and vitamins.

Did you find out what caused the symptoms in your hen?

 

[Eggcessive]

No we did not know what her issue was. Her legs remained strong, but she could not walk without falling backward or to her side. She could scoot around in her little nest, a recycling container, to stay out of her droppings. She died about 18 months after she was able to walk around again. We did a necropsy, and I did find evidence of a reproductive disorder and possibly cancer. I have heard of chickens with Mareks symptoms who have been found to have an infection or tumor in the abdomen. Many times it is hard to know until a necropsy can be done after death. A good vet with experience might be able to figure it out with X-rays. There is not a problem keeping her in limited activity for awhile and continuing vitamins for a few weeks. Hopefully, she will recover.

 

[carlaashdown]

No we did not know what her issue was. Her legs remained strong, but she could not walk without falling backward or to her side. She could scoot around in her little nest, a recycling container, to stay out of her droppings. She died about 18 months after she was able to walk around again. We did a necropsy, and I did find evidence of a reproductive disorder and possibly cancer. I have heard of chickens with Mareks symptoms who have been found to have an infection or tumor in the abdomen. Many times it is hard to know until a necropsy can be done after death. A good vet with experience might be able to figure it out with X-rays. There is not a problem keeping her in limited activity for awhile and continuing vitamins for a few weeks. Hopefully, she will recover.

This leads me to another question.

About a week after the symptoms started (generalized weakness/lethargic), I gave her 5 days of Amoxicillin. She showed significant improvement on it. She went from lethargic, laying on her side, to upright and able to walk. I am reluctant to give it to her again because it gave her diarrhea. At this point with all the falling/uncoordination, she would be falling/laying in it. Thoughts?