BR is running out of time.

[Nolly]

1) Barred Rock. Weight: Skin and bones. Age: About 7 weeks.

2) I believe she is suffering from avian encephalomyelitis (AE). About a month ago, she began to lose control of one leg, then the other. She can still move them, but doesn't seem to actually have real control. She is unable to walk because of this. She is lethargic, rarely opening her eyes. Within the past week, she developed a new symptom. She will willing drink, but it all ends up coming back out. She can't keep it down. Now she breathes loudly. I'm afraid that she has developed a respiratory infection.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
About a month

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
No.

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No.

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
The AE (if I'm correct on that diagnosis) would've been passed from mother. I may have cause sour crop from tube feeding (which I've been doing for about 3 weeks now) by giving her too much at one time to "hold her over" until I got home from work. The last 2 nights I've performed crop washing and vomiting. Today, the crop feels flat, or flatter.

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
I had been giving liquified pellets but recently switched to Kaytee Exact. I'm mixing with vitamin/electrolyte/probiotic water. Also, I've been giving about 2 drops of Tri-vi-sol a day (couldn't find poly without iron).

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Its a mixed bag. Some is normal, sometimes watery.

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Tube feeding 2-3 times a day for about 3 weeks. Liquid vitamins during this time.

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I'm afraid we're getting near the end here. There is little left to her, but she still has fight left in her. She will thrash around when I put her back in her tote. She will flap and kick when I pick her up. If she had sour crop, I hope its taking care of. This is the first day that tube feed her and and her crop has a more solid feel than squishy right after feeding.

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
No
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use.
Plastic tote with pine shavings and paper towel over shavings.

I'm basing my diagnosis on symptom charts I've found online. AE seems to fit best, but I could be wrong.
There have been a few poops that seemed like undigested crumble material, but most are normal or liquidy.
At this point, I'm looking for an experienced insight for anything I may have missed. This is our first experience with chickens, so forums like BYC and the internet in general is what I've been relying on.

 

[Eggcessive]

There is not much you can do for AE, but it would be good to get an actual diagnosis. If she dies, I would get a necropsy done by your state vet. Have you noticed tremors in your chick. I'm very sorry about your chick. It is very difficult when we get attached to our sick pets, especially when dealing with an incurable disease. . Here is some info about AE in chickens:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/9/avian-encephalomyelitis-epidemic-tremors/
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/p...itis/overview_of_avian_encephalomyelitis.html

 

[Nolly]

Hi Eggcessive.
If I hold her on her back, it looks like she's shivering. Actually that's what we initially thought it was, that she was cold. We were also hoping that her walking issues were just vitamin deficiencies. No luck there.
While I am interested to know if it's AE, I'll have to see what the necropsy costs. I've already spent too much in coop building and other supplies as we are just beginning with out first flock (only 4 birds).
I've been holding on because I've read that there is a possibility of recovery, although I haven't found any first hand stories of chickens that may have recovered.
Anyway, thank you for your input

 

[Nolly]

Unfortunately, Addy has passed on. She put up a good fight for over a month.
I'm left with a few questions that maybe fellow BYCers can give some insight to. Things that I thought I was doing right, but maybe wasn't. I'm hoping that this will aid me if I have a similar situation in the future.

-When tube feeding, how long should it take for the crop to empty out for the next feeding? I was getting 3-4 feedings in a day on weekends.
-How full should you make the crop? I was trying to get it to feel like a fair sized lump. I'm afraid that I may have over filled a few times. It was difficult to tell while she was wrapped in a towel.
-At the end, she would deal with the tube feeding ok, but if I let her just get a drink of water herself, the water would come back up. It didn't seem to matter how I held her, or if I had already set her back down. The last day, her feeding from the night before came back out as soon as I picked her up to check her.

I realize that my choice to not take her to the vet may have been her down fall, but this end may have been inevitable anyway. I want to learn what I can from this to see if there may have been any major errors on my behalf.

On a side note, the vet that we take the cats to (they have a few vets that kind of work with chickens) wanted a ridiculous amount of money to put her down and cremate. Like $150. Turned out to be about $23 just to cremate. What other options are there? I didn't pursue the state vet because I was getting the feeling that I would have a chicken carcass in my fridge while waiting on the vet (maybe I'm wrong here since I didn't find a clear description of the whole process).

Thanks for your help and suggestions.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss Nolly. Others on BYC would be able to tell you more about tube feeding, but many do it twice a day. Sorry for your loss. Many vets don't know that much about chickens, but that may be improving in the future with so many backyard flocks. I would call or email your state vet to ask about necropsy costs. It is different in every state, and some such as California are free. Here is a link to call your state vet's office for info: http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf