Baby chick with encephalomyelitis?? :(

[Nicole95]

I'm hoping someone can help me! I've already posted about my sick baby but I'm now thinking it could be encephalomyelitis and I'm praying someone has some kind of advice for helping her survive.

She is still eating and drinking fine and has normal poop. She's also not showing any signs of respiratory distress.
She is however: Spending most of the day laying down back on her haunches.
She is very uncoordinated and stumbles and falls onto her sides when walking.
She also sometimes has a slight tremor (yes she has a heat lamp).

All symptoms seem to fit perfectly with avian encephalomyelitis

All my reading has indicated that there is a very slight chance for survival and that slight chance is all I need to keep fighting for her.

She is currently receiving electrolytes, probiotics, vitamins, apple cider vinegar, and hard boiled egg (with her medicated chick crumbles).

Any ideas or advice on what else I could be doing??

Thanks so much!

 

[Nicole95]

Just an extra FYI, she has been having symptoms for about 4 days now and she is a two week old chick.

Thanks again!

 

[JerseyHen]

You are doing everything you can, the rest is up to her immune system. I would keep her isolated and continue the food and fluids. Please be cautious not to OD her on the electrolytes and vitamins. As a rule if she is self feeding she will not overdo it, but if you are dropper feeding it can get to be a bit much. If it is AE, then it is likely that this chick was infected vertically (from a parent that had the disease after reproductive age and passed it to the chick in the egg).

 

[Nicole95]

She is eating and drinking on her own, but I am giving her the vitamins via a dropper. How many drops do you recommend giving? I have been giving two a day (at one time), starting yesterday.

 

[JerseyHen]

Are these polyvisol vitamins for infants? or the durvet powdered vit/electrolytes for animals? or nutridrench or other (there are so many vet vitamin formulations)? If you are using a vet powder or liquid, mix as directed (make as small an amount as possible since you have to mix fresh every day) and the chick will only get what is needed because it is water dependent. I am not sure of the dropper numbers for polysol for a chick, I have only ever used the vet vitamins with mine and human vitamin E supplement. I have seen some information regarding vitamin e and AE.

 

[Nicole95]

I am using the poly vi sol. I too have read about vitamin E deficiency having to do with AE. The recommended dose for an infant is 1ml a day, and that is supposed to have 100% of the daily value of vitamin E. Surely two drops a day is enough vitamin E for a two week old chick? What do you think?

Also, thanks so much for your replies!

 

[JerseyHen]

This thread has some good info on "crazy chick disease" which seems to be a collection of diseases of neurologic origin that are related to vitamin deficiencies (E, Selenium, and B in particular). So, maybe your chick has a vitamin deficiency and not an infectious process. Anyway, here is the link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...y-and-crazy-chick-disease-photos-added-post-5

 

[Nicole95]

I read all of the posts but I don't think that's what Rosie has. She doesn't go backwards or tuck her head under, she just stumbles and falls to her side when she trys to walk. And she spends most of the day sitting back on her haunches :/ I would be over joyed if this were simply a vitamin deficiency problem though! I may try adding some regular vitamin E to the poly drops as well.

 

[JerseyHen]

I agree, it sounds like AE, but so many of these diseases look similar. I really don't know what the actual dosage of a vitamin is for a chicken, let alone for a chick. I have seen people say 2 drops 2 times a day, 1 tsp per quart of water, etc..., but I think everyone is kind of guessing at it. I have given adult chickens with what looked like wryneck (one I thought might actually be AE since it can present with wryneck which is why I plugged in that other link) full 400iu caplets of Vit E and durvet multi solution for several days with good results, but it could have been coincidental for all I know. I imagine that the dosage you are giving is ok. I hope your chick improves, keep us posted.

 

[Nicole95]

She is about the same today, eating and drinking plenty on her own, having normal healthy poo, just tumbling over when she walks and laying down on her haunches most of the time. Very frustrating, she seems so healthy aside from the mobility problems. I went ahead and added some Vit E to the poly, diluted it in a little water and gave her a few drops. We'll see how today goes