Center of Gravity off?

[funnyseimer]

I have a one year old black maran and her center of gravity seems to be off so she can't stand. I walked out yesterday to put away the chickens because a fox had visited and she was just laying on her side by our gate. I brought her inside and tried to have her stand. I would have her sitting and she would go to stand and fall flat on her face. She tries to use her legs to stand/ run but isn't able to balance. Shes been inside for the day and is eating, drinking, and pooping normally. No signs of injury. All the other chickens are normal. She is molting.

 

[quackersandfern]

It sounds like ataxia (incoordination), have your tried using the chicken symptom checker tool to get an idea of the possibilities? http://www.poultrydvm.com/views/symptoms.php

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a one year old black maran and her center of gravity seems to be off so she can't stand. I walked out yesterday to put away the chickens because a fox had visited and she was just laying on her side by our gate. I brought her inside and tried to have her stand. I would have her sitting and she would go to stand and fall flat on her face. She tries to use her legs to stand/ run but isn't able to balance. Shes been inside for the day and is eating, drinking, and pooping normally. No signs of injury. All the other chickens are normal. She is molting.

I'm sorry about your hen.
Can you post some photos of her? A video of her actions may be helpful -upload to youtube an provide a link.

Is it possible the Fox got a hold of her?

She is molting. Before molt began, was she laying eggs normally - no problems at all?
I would check her again really well for any injury or bruising.
Feel her abdomen for swelling/bloat or fluid.
Have you ever had similar symptoms in any birds that you have had? Any paralysis, wasting, respiratory illness, etc.?

What do you normally feed?
I would keep her eating/drinking. Offer her some poultry vitamins that contain Vitamin E.

Sometimes it's difficult to know the cause of sudden illness. So many things affect chickens. Something that comes to mind with a fright or stressor and the symptoms you describe is Marek's disease.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry that I thought I had posted this an hour ago, but I guess I forgot to press the post button. It may be a little late. Her problem with imbalance might be due to an injury by the fox, but also could have to so with her molting. Way down on the list might possibly be signs of Mareks disease brought on by stress, but it is way too early to even discuss that possibility. Was she vaccinated for Mareks?

It might be good to give her a poultry vitamin for a few days to see if that helps. I treated a hen for the past year who was unable to balance while standing for 5 weeks. She always had good leg strength and could stand, but would topple over backwards or sideways. It began over seeveral days. She spent 5 weeks in a basket being fed 3 times a day with many different foods to get her tempted to eat, plus a lot of water in her food, since she would not drink. Vitamins were also given. She eventually broke out of her basket, and has been up walking albeit a little wobbly all over the yard for the last 7 months.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
So sorry about your hen. Is she pale, bloated, look hard at her skin for mites or lice, causing anemia. There are so many possible problems, who knows?
A head injury, maybe caused by flying into a coop wall, could be the problem too. Nursing care and time to heal, I hope.
Can you take her to a veterinarian?
Mary

 

[funnyseimer]

Sorry that I thought I had posted this an hour ago, but I guess I forgot to press the post button. It may be a little late. Her problem with imbalance might be due to an injury by the fox, but also could have to so with her molting. Way down on the list might possibly be signs of Mareks disease brought on by stress, but it is way too early to even discuss that possibility. Was she vaccinated for Mareks?

It might be good to give her a poultry vitamin for a few days to see if that helps. I treated a hen for the past year who was unable to balance while standing for 5 weeks. She always had good leg strength and could stand, but would topple over backwards or sideways. It began over seeveral days. She spent 5 weeks in a basket being fed 3 times a day with many different foods to get her tempted to eat, plus a lot of water in her food, since she would not drink. Vitamins were also given. She eventually broke out of her basket, and has been up walking albeit a little wobbly all over the yard for the last 7 months.

She was fine up until I found her on the ground. All our other chickens appear to be fine and are acting normal. I thoroughly checked for signs of injury, and she has none. We had some chickens tested, and everything came back negative. There are no other chickens around. Her legs still work and she tries to run, but she can not balance.

 

[Eggcessive]

Is she getting enough to eat and drink? Where are you keeping her? You might want to consider a chicken sling for her to sit in to get her upright in front of food and water for periods throughout the day, then let her rest and stretch in between, and sleep at night lying down. Here is a link with several pages of homemade slings and a video:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/