Can a chicken have a stroke?

[olivigus]

Had a big scare with one of my youngsters this weekend. I have four 10-week-old pullets that were raised by one of our hens who went broody this spring. They are still in their own small coop and yard in a corner of the big pen. When I opened the door in the morning on Saturday only three of them ran out. When I looked inside, Riley was lying on the small platform between the two roosts where she likes to be at night. At first I thought she was dead--she looked like a pile of black feathers. Her head was turned one way and her body another, and both her feet were curled and sticking out to the side. Then I noticed she was still breathing, and when I put my palm against the bottoms of her feet she moved them slightly. There is a small gap between the platform and the wall and when I felt feathers underneath it I pushed and rolled them back onto the top of the platform (I think it might have been her wing stuck down there?) After I did that, she opened her eyes and rolled onto her belly. Then she turned around and hopped off the platform and scurried outside to the yard.

I kept an eye on her throughout the day and made sure she was eating and drinking and pooping, and she was eager to eat the greens I gave everyone later. But she seemed to alternate walking fairly normally with doing a kind of walk/crawl to get around. Sometimes it looked like she was stretching out her wings to keep her balance when she walked and she was resting on her belly a lot. That night when they went into the coop I heard flapping and a thump. Checked and the other three were up on the roost (it's only about 18 inches off the ground in the little coop) and Riley was on the ground. I picked her up and set her on the roost, and she hunkered down and seemed OK. But as soon as I shut the door I heard another thump and there she was on the floor again. It's like her feet weren't able to keep a grip the roost. I'd taken the platform out of there that morning so I guided her into a corner where she settled down. Next morning she was up and about with the others, still doing that occasional weird crawl-wing-flap thing. So I put the platform back across part of the roosts, but this time pushed up against the wall so nothing can get stuck, and that night when I checked on them, Riley was up there with the others--they were on the roost, and she was on the platform, where she didn't have to grip anything to be up high.

That's a lot of lead-in to my real question: Can a chicken have a stroke? I though maybe she just hurt her wing when it got stuck, and that's why she was stretching it out a lot. But she was in such an odd position and not moving at all when I found her in the coop on Saturday. She also seems to almost have a foot cramp sometimes when walking which is when she hunkers down for a while. Has anyone had this happen and, if so, what did you do? As long as she's eating, drinking, pooping and still interested in treats I'm thinking I should just let her be and she'll recover (or maybe always be a special needs chicken roosting on a flat platform)? I also thought of putting a 2x2 strip on the platform so she could practice gripping but not fall or get hurt if she can't do it.

Any other chicken ailments or fits this could be?
Thanks for any input.

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

Well, a stoke is caused by a blood clot to the brain, resulting in any number of problems. Sometimes one side of the body or the other is completely limp. This hen seems to have at least some mobility in both, correct?

 

[olivigus]

Thanks for the response. Yes, she's moving both feet and both wings. They just don't seem to be working exactly right--it looks a bit like they cramp up off and on. I just can't figure out what would immobilize her like she was when I found her. Could be she just froze because her wing was stuck? Maybe she's pulled something that will gradually heal. She was up on the platform next to the others again tonight, so clearly she's getting by. Guess I'll just wait and see if her walk normalizes and she can grip with her feet again. She's an awfully young chicken to have something like a stroke I would think.

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

Chickens normally don't live long enough or eat poorly enough to get blood clots. Methinks that something happened it in the middle of the night that caused her to loose grip on the roost. Usually the feet lock to keep a firm grip. It could still be a neurological condition, but I can't say for sure... could it have been a heat stroke?

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

Any similarities between your hen and Scarlett?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-showing-neurological-symptoms-help.1190335/

 

[rebrascora]

As someone who has experienced this with young birds, it sounds suspiciously like Marek's disease. She is the right age for it. It causes partial paralysis and the posture you describe is common with neck twisted and legs stuck out and toes curled.

It has happened to me before where I have found young birds wedged in awkward places under the roost and I have come to the conclusion that paralysis strikes whilst they are sleeping and after they fall, they flounder until they become stuck and after struggling for a bit they give up.
Marek's is a Herpes type virus and like people with cold sores it lies dormant until an outbreak is triggered. You don't know who has the virus until they have an outbreak and they shed the virus during an outbreak, infecting others. With Marek's the virus is shed via dander dust from the infected bird, which is then inhaled by the new host. Personally I don't isolate Marek's sufferers as I take the view that the rest of the flock has probably already been exposed and isolating them stresses them which makes it worse. The only thing to be aware of is that the others may turn on her and then you will need to provide her with a safe enclosure and perhaps individual support.

I hope I am wrong, but only time will tell. The best you can do is vitamin supplementation to support the immune system....Marek's compromises the immune system like AIDS. Vitamins B and C may be particularly helpful and ensure the bird gets plenty of good quality food. Fermented feed or probiotics should also help support the gut and hence the immune system.

Good luck with your girl and keep us posted on her progress.

Regards

Barbara

 

[Cindysrescue]

I agree it is possibly Marek's. It could also be a vitamin e or a deficiency. If it were me, I would add vitamins and electrolytes to the water. I would also puncture a hole in a vitamin E capsule and squeeze it directly into the hen's mouth and see if that would help.

 

[olivigus]

Oh dear. This sounds quite likely based on the match of symptoms. I thought the chicks I got from the feed store had been vaccinated against Marek's, but I will check with them to find out. Others three all seem fine. I've been fermenting feed for my big girls, but haven't given any to the youngsters yet. I'll get a batch going with their chick food today. Will try the other tips too. Thanks for the advice and support!

 

[rebrascora]

Unfortunately, even if they have been vaccinated, it does not guarantee that they will not get the disease, particularly in this situation where they (I am assuming from your original post) have been adopted and raised by a broody. The vaccine needs 2-3 weeks to take effect before the chicks are exposed to the virus and even then they can still get it but it reduces the chances of them developing the fatal tumours that often occur with this disease. It is possible that the virus was already in your flock but dormant and unfortunately juvenile birds are particularly vulnerable to it, so that's why it is now making an appearance.

Hopefully this will be an isolated case and the vaccine (if they have received it) will be effective for the others. You do need to take precautions if you are visiting other people's poultry etc that you change your clothes and shoes from your own flock as it is easily spread if that is in fact what it is.

 

[olivigus]

Thanks. This is all good to know. None of my older flock have ever shown symptoms, but I suppose it's possible some are carriers. Or it may have come in with this group of newbies. Or it may be just be a vitamin deficiency in this particular pullet. I'm gathering that the best thing to do is get more informed, keep an eye on her to see if she gets any worse or any of the others show symptoms, and make sure they are all getting good nutrition and some B, C and E supplements. The youngsters are in their own pen, but it's all in the same basic area and I go in and out of both, so no doubt if it is Marek's there is virus around everywhere. I do have a particular pair of boots I wear only for the chicken yard. But I'll be extra careful if I ever go off-site for poultry visits--which sounds like fun, but, alas, I don't know anyone else who keeps chickens in my non-online life.