Balance problems

[Jlgonzo]

I have a 2.5 year leghorn who had a hard molt late October. She seems to be fully feathered, eats, drinks and poops well.
If she gets bumped into by the other chickens for whatever reason it knocks her to the ground and takes her a bit to get up. This keeps her from getting near the others during feeding when they are excited. She also is not getting up on the roost at night as it seems to hard for her to climb the ramp. Her comb is still pale and shrunken from the molt which it did last year. She walks normal but never runs like the others. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[azygous]

Since she's just coming off molt, the obvious reason for imbalance would be starvation weakness. You can try treating her first with sugar water and Poultry Nutri-drench, then special feedings of protein and carbs.

Other cause of balance issue are not so benign. Vitamin deficiencies, ear infection, tumors, and Marek's are a few possibilities.

 

[Myrshine]

Since she's just coming off molt, the obvious reason for imbalance would be starvation weakness. You can try treating her first with sugar water and Poultry Nutri-drench, then special feedings of protein and carbs.

Other cause of balance issue are not so benign. Vitamin deficiencies, ear infection, tumors, and Marek's are a few possibilities.

I agree with this . She also could have a vitamin deficiency starting from it as well. I’d separate for a week and give her vitamin B-12 and see if she perks up. Have you brought any new birds into your flock recently? Does she still lay?

 

[Jlgonzo]

Thanks for all the info. The tried to give her Nutri-drench in a small dish with a little water but she would not try it. My other chickens did. Should I try to put some in a syringe and give it to her? I worry about that because I have heard they can aspirate if you do it wrong. I also thought I could put it in their main water. Would that be ok?
She has not begun to lay yet since the molt. The other leghorn started molting just before this one and she just started laying this week. No new birds have been added and they do not free range because of the large amount of predators. Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[azygous]

When you know your way around the throat of a chicken, you can syringe liquids safely. The hole in the middle behind the tongue is the airway. The esophagus is on the far right of the throat and goes directly to the crop. Insert the syringe along the right side of the mouth, avoiding the top of the tongue. If you hear your chicken cough or gag, you have the syringe in the airway. Poultry Nutri-drench can be given safely in this manner.