Auction rescue, does she stand a chance?

[Nwygle93]

Hey all peeps, I rescued a few hens from an auction yesterday..I shouldn’t have paid as much as I did but I seen something was wrong and my heart hurt. One of the hens is worse than the other. She lays around a lot and sometimes lays on her side. I have noticed some toe curling. Her legs have never split tho (merricks symptom). She walks but uses her wings a lot and walks like she’s tender..short, wobbly steps. She was limping yesterday it seemed and would almost fall over and use her wings to catch herself. Eats and drinks just fine. I’m suspicious of vitamin B deficiency after reading some posts but wanted more opinions before I went and bought it. She does have feather loss and they all have diarrhea. Two of the others have a slight limp. Also, what can I use to cure diarrhea in these guys? My big heart gets me in trouble sometimes..Thanks peeps

 

[doublecrossranch]

Did they say how old they are? @Eggcessive or @Wyorp Rock might have a better idea of what to do. I’m still learning

 

[Nwygle93]

Unfortunately they didn’t. They are all laying tho. She may have even laid an egg this morning. They don’t look too old

 

[Eggcessive]

Dehydration could be a problem if she was at an auction and caged for part of the day. But Mareks does sound possible. I would give some electrolytes in water and get her drinking. Many people take chickens in to sell when they are starting to molt, but they usually don’t lay eggs when they are molting. Here in OH you can get a necropsy on a backyard chicken for $23, if you deliver the body to the lab in Reynoldsburg near Columbus. If more tests are required they charge a little more.

 

[Nwygle93]

Really? That’s interesting. I’m not far from Columbus. I’d rather her live tho of course and since I have 20 of my own I’d rather them not catch something lol. Course they are separate but I still worry. I don’t suppose there is a cure for merricks..least not that I had seen? I thought about starting the vitamin b that they use for human babies. I thought it was called poly something..does anyone know how much I would give her? I’ll go put electrolytes in their water now

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Have you looked at her feet/legs - bottom of feet too to see if there's injury/bumblefoot or even buildup of dirt/debris packed in the bottom of the feet?

No, there is no cure for Marek's.

You can pick up B-Complex at WalMart, CVS or even order it online. 1/4 tablet a day.
Tractor supply also carries poultry vitamins - Poultry Cell is a good choice.

 

[Nwygle93]

Very good suggestion, I didn’t even think to check for a thorn or something. But no I looked and her legs and feet look really good. She’s up and about a bit more today since the electrolytes and I also gave them some digestion support drops in there too. I’m gonna get some B tablets tonight..I don’t want to overload them but I just worry since two of them are in such sorry state Just gonna have to be careful. She’s still quite alert, just slow on her feet and lays around a lot. It’s a mystery to me..not too much I look up has all the same symptoms

 

[Winter Creek Coop]

How did this bird turn out?