Arizona Chickens

[Arizona Son]

uh oh....... I have a problem in my flock that I could use some true experts weighing in on

, not just wild guesses by newbies

.
About 3 days ago, I noticed one of my adolescent Ameraucanas stumbling and having serious difficulty walking or standing. I figured it got stung by a scorpion and would recover soon enough, so I separated it from the rest of the flock because it was getting trampled on. The next day I had two more birds exhibiting the same symptoms, and then today yet another two, for a total of five birds! 3 of the 5 are pure Ameraucana, the other two are a cross of Ameraucana & bantam Cochin. To me, it seems highly unlikely all 5 of these birds were stung by scorpions within days of each other, so I'm at a loss for how to explain this. They are acting semi paralyzed, but are eating and drinking and seem to be otherwise healthy except for the fact that they cant walk or even stand up very well! BTW, if it matters, none of these birds are adults, they are aged between 3 and 5 months. What's going on here?????

 

[pipemum]

eek, AZ Son, hope your birds are okay. I only have wild newbie guesses, so no help here.

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

Update on my Quail. The quail eggs hatched yesterday, my birthday. Today, I looked out and saw this, Momma and Pappa Quail and baby's, they must think my yard is a safe place, pluse food, lots of food. They saw me and started thier retreat. But not a panic escape, Over the next weeks while I am still here is will be fun to watch them. If they stay in my yard I think they all have a good chance of making it. There is still work to be done but there are a lot of hiding places.

 

[pipemum]

Happy belated birthday, LKD! Love the quail!

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

There are a many alaments that have those symptoms. There are members, that as soon as they read your post will be able to help you. It is serious, how bad I can not say, but we have help here. Do you have yogurt?, or vitamin supplements? Electrolights? Can't hurt.

 

[Arizona Son]

There are a no of laments that have those symptoms. There are members, that as soon as they read your post will be able to help you. It is serious, how bad I can not say, but we have help here. Do you have yogurt?, or vitamin supplements? Electrolights? Can't hurt.

yeah i'm waiting for the likes of Maryhysong - Desertmarcy - Sonoran Silkies etc, to chime in here & help a brother out. I do have electrolites around here somewhere. I just hate medicating something until I know what is wrong with it. Am I being overly cautious here?

 

[MagicChicken]

I use a swamp cooler during the day and turn it off at night, windows open 24/7. Daytime house temp runs about 80, nighttime can drop to about 60, but not for much longer! I turn the light off during the day, turn it on at night if it's going to be cool.
As someone posted above, let the chicks guide you. If they are clustered under the light, they are cold. If they are trying to get as far from the light as possible they are too warm. If they are spread out in the brooder, they are fine. Keep the food and water as far as possible from the light to keep it cool. Way back in this thread, someone (desertmarcy??) Suggested that excessive pasty butt can be caused by the chicks being too cold. If so, I must be doing something right, pasty butts are pretty rare in my chicks. I had one Cochin last night that needed a cleanup, but I just got it yesterday, so it could be related to the shipping.

I'm a little confused, because I thought pasty butt was more frequent when chicks were too warm. I've not had to deal with it, so I have no direct experience.

 

[crazichicknladi]

I am in Gilbert. Does anyone know of a good chicken sitter who can take care of my 4 girls while we are away next week and/or possibly house sit for me for 3 weeks in July? I am mostly concerned that its starting to warm up...

 

[MagicChicken]

uh oh....... I have a problem in my flock that I could use some true experts weighing in on

, not just wild guesses by newbies

.
About 3 days ago, I noticed one of my adolescent Ameraucanas stumbling and having serious difficulty walking or standing. I figured it got stung by a scorpion and would recover soon enough, so I separated it from the rest of the flock because it was getting trampled on. The next day I had two more birds exhibiting the same symptoms, and then today yet another two, for a total of five birds! 3 of the 5 are pure Ameraucana, the other two are a cross of Ameraucana & bantam Cochin. To me, it seems highly unlikely all 5 of these birds were stung by scorpions within days of each other, so I'm at a loss for how to explain this. They are acting semi paralyzed, but are eating and drinking and seem to be otherwise healthy except for the fact that they cant walk or even stand up very well! BTW, if it matters, none of these birds are adults, they are aged between 3 and 5 months. What's going on here?????

I don't know what is going on, but it doesn't sound good. Have you tried the Emergencies/Diseases forum under Raising Backyard Chickens? You will get a lot of newbie responses, but there are also some knowledgeable people who monitor that forum who may be able to help.

I haven't had to deal with paralyzing diseases. I have dealt with leg issues in chicks sired by one particular cock. Three of his chicks had leg injuries (one break, two sprained) when they were a few weeks old. A lot of the cockerels from him are knock-kneed. Their gait looks weirdly unstable when they run. The gait didn't become obvious until they were about 3 months old. But they can stand ok, so it sounds like you have a different issue.

What percentage of your total flock is affected? If it's just birds with Ameraucauna blood in them and you have non-Ameraucauna birds that are not affected, there may be some genetic issues going on - either structural or relating to disease resistance. Were all five birds from the same source? Is it possible they share one or more parent?

My knock-kneed boys are headed for the stew pot, and their father is unlikely to be used for future breeding. He is a great flock guardian, so I am keeping him to manage the layer flock until I have a better bird to replace him.

Good luck.

 

[Arizona Son]

What percentage of your total flock is affected? If it's just birds with Ameraucauna blood in them and you have non-Ameraucauna birds that are not affected, there may be some genetic issues going on - either structural or relating to disease resistance. Were all five birds from the same source? Is it possible they share one or more parent?

You bring up a good point, and one that I considered as well. ALL of the affected birds have at least some Ameraucana in them, however there are 3 different roos involved and at least 4 different hens. Separate coops, bloodlines & all. These birds were bred here on my property.

Percentage of total flock affected = 5 birds out of 2 hundred or so. I have coops of Bantam Cochins mere feet away, and those birds arent exhibiting any issues.