Broody Silkies now having difficulty with walking

[TiffanyFlowers]

My 9month old silkie Peebles went broody for the first time a few weeks ago. I did most of the things to try to unbroody her. Yesterday she was sitting outside the run alone (never seen her do that) today she is having trouble walking. She seems to be badly off balance and is using her wings to balance, but not walking well at all. She is very thin, she's been stubborn about her broodiness. She ate a few bites of scrambled eggs this morning, but not much. I soaked her in Epsom salt bath, blowed dried her, and now she sleeping (during the day). I gave her nutridrench and poultry cell and some heh helper in her water. Any advice?

 

[azygous]

Give her some vitamin E as her starvation has likely caused a deficiency. Add sugar to her water as this will elevate her glucose and revive her. Feed egg and boiled rice.

Keep up with these measures until she's got her strength back.

 

[TiffanyFlowers]

I added honey to her water, and gave her a scrambled egg, she only ate a few bite, I'll try to give her another fresh one today, I also forced some hen helper down her. Her crop doesn't seem to be empting completely either. Her poop is clear liquid

 

[TiffanyFlowers]

She won't eat anything, and her right foot, the one she having trouble with , I move it with no resistance. I'm guessing something is broken

 

[azygous]

This is sounding more like a possible avian virus, and given the age, it is more than likely Marek's.

These viruses often become symptomatic around the age of your Silkie for Marek's and around four or five months old for lymphoid leucosis. There are diagnostic tests for live birds to determine if an avian virus is present, but they are expensive and blood samples don't survive long enough going by mail to arrive without so much degradation of the sample as to render it useless. There is a test for a feather sample, but don't know how accurate it is.

By giving supportive care and waiting to see if this bird declines in spite of everything, you will eventually have a pretty good idea without any tests if one of these two viruses is the culprit.

I had this situation a few years ago. I lost three out of four pullets, and the third was necropsied so I knew that leucosis was what was behind it. Here's the thread with all my documentation on what I did to try to treat them. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...update-now-another-pullet-going-lame.1432738/

 

[TiffanyFlowers]

This is sounding more like a possible avian virus, and given the age, it is more than likely Marek's.

These viruses often become symptomatic around the age of your Silkie for Marek's and around four or five months old for lymphoid leucosis. There are diagnostic tests for live birds to determine if an avian virus is present, but they are expensive and blood samples don't survive long enough going by mail to arrive without so much degradation of the sample as to render it useless. There is a test for a feather sample, but don't know how accurate it is.

By giving supportive care and waiting to see if this bird declines in spite of everything, you will eventually have a pretty good idea without any tests if one of these two viruses is the culprit.

I had this situation a few years ago. I lost three out of four pullets, and the third was necropsied so I knew that leucosis was what was behind it. Here's the thread with all my documentation on what I did to try to treat them. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...update-now-another-pullet-going-lame.1432738/

Thank you

 

[TiffanyFlowers]

I'm new to chickens, but I thought after they were 6 months old it was super rare to get Marek's?

 

[azygous]

There's nothing about Marek's that is super rare. It is a common scourge in flocks all over the world, and extremely long lived in the environment.

Vaccination doesn't always prevent it, but it can make Marek's tumors less likely. That still leaves nerve damage which can hit at any age. The virus can be tracked onto your premises and older chickens can be vulnerable. But the most targeted age group is chickens in their first year, usually from two to ten months.

There is avian leucosis which is probably more common than Marek's. It affects chicks in the egg as well as older chickens, hitting around ten months if the chick survives hatch. There's no vaccination, but chickens can develop good resistance and live normal lifespans despite carrying the virus.

The symptoms of the two viruses are very similar and often the only way to tell which is in a flock is to have a dead chicken tested at necropsy.

 

[TiffanyFlowers]

She didn't make it I noticed her crop wasn't emptying all the way either, I gave her olive oil and massaged it several times

 

[azygous]

Now you can get a necropsy and get some answers.