Chciken can't walk

[Shineot]

I have a Silkie hen about two years old. She is able to stand up, but whenever she tries to walk she sort of loses her balance and spreads out her wings to stop her from falling. She then lies down. She doesn't seem to have shown any other signs of illness and she hasn't lost her appetite at all. I brought her inside in hope that the extra heat would do her good, but it hasn't had any effect. Any ideas what is wrong with her? If so how can I help her?

 

[rubychick]

One of my chickens had a similar problem, at first she started with a limp which got better by itself, few weeks later she was limping again then was unable to walk, vet gave her an injection of antibiotics and pain relief, kept her warm for a few days then she was ok. He didn't know the cause of the problem but she has regular bouts of limping now especially when its cold. Hope your chicken improves, my vet suggested an x-ray but shes an old lady and he didn't think she would survive.

 

[horsejody]

Was she vaccinated for Marek's as a chick?

 

[Shineot]

She hasn't had any vaccinations in her life. I don't think that it is Marek's disease she has though. I could post some pictures if that would help.

 

[horsejody]

They don't always have the classic stance with Marek's. Sometimes it's just limping and weakness. It can come and go as the bird goes in and out of remission. I hope it's not Marek's. It's an awful disease, but one of the most common poultry diseases in the world.

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

my 60 plus yrs of experience it is mareks of some sort
with the knowledge that all the while the bird is in with other birds she is sluffing off mareks germs to the other

most vets today are not chicken wise
so they do not recognize mareks diseases

you can give strong vit's and wet mash to see if it is some kind of unbalance in the gut

the best thing for the chicken is the
wet mash probiotic with Vit E and Vit B complex
this will help their nervous system which is being attacked at this time
because you see discordanation in their attempt to walk okay

do this
*** note if you leave them with other chickens to doctor them then multiply amt of wet mash probiotic and vit's by amt of number of chickens fed the wet mash

(A) natural probiotic wet mash with Vit E and Vit B complex added immediately
basically the chicken has some nerve damage do this immediately
need neurolodigal vit E and Vit B complex for nervous disorder Also the apple cider vineager in water

(1) 2 tbsp per gallon of water till chickens are well and the 2 times a week for life

(2 immediately give the chicken 1000 mg capsule of liquid Vit E by cutting the end of the capsule and taking the vit E liquid and mix in wet mash probiotic

(2-B) total amt of capsules equals the total amt of chickens fed vit's

(3 also need to crush a vit B complex pill in tabsp and add it the chickens wet mash after it is disolved, add one per each chicken being fed this recipe

(4) also a Vit D crush and put in the wet mash probiotic one per chicken being fed

(5) then give this to the chickens twice a week for two weeks should see much improvement

(6 Do both Vit's twice today then for 7 days till you see some improvement in the chickens

(7 today I would see if the chickens will eat a wet mash with the Vitamins E and B complex

(8) THIS IS FOR ONE CHICKEN (multiply by the amt of chickens you have to eat this wet mash and Vitamins)

natural probiotic wet mash
3 tbp of dry crumbles
4 tbp of milk sweet, sour or buttermilk
1 tbsp of non flavored yogurt
mix good and put the
vit E liquid as directed in the wet mash
and crumble the Vit B complex tablet in a tabsp and add to the wet mash
also vit D crushed in wet mash
**BESURE AND MIX VIT'S VERY GOOD IN WET MASH*** so all chickens get their share
MULTIPLY BY THE NUMBER OF CHICKENS FED THIS RECIPE

(9 Do this twice a day for 7 days to see if the chicken is better
then do this once a day for another week then once a week for a while
this should give the nervous system some stability

(10) they should clean it up in 20-30 minutes

email me any questions

 

[Gypsy07]

If there are no other signs of illness, could it perhaps be a calcium deficiency? That can cause lameness.

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

go to google
put in lameness in chickens
heresearch results[PDF] Preventing Lameness in Broiler Chickens
326k - Adobe PDF - View as html
Lameness in broiler chickens is one of the issues being tackled in the EU-funded ... underestimate the amount of lameness in their broiler flocks and in doing so they ...
welfarequality.net/.../41858/19524/wq broilers 0308 eng.pdf
[PDF] Lameness and Leg Weakness in Broilers
25k - Adobe PDF - View as html
broiler chickens. In their 1992 Report the Farm Animal Welfare ... lameness in broilers, Compassion in World Farming Trust (CIWF Trust) is concerned that ...
ciwf.org.uk/.../l/lameness_problems_in_broilers_2000.pdf is two articles on it

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

I would say you may be right there
as the lameness in broilers is lack of using unhigh protein in youngster and so doing will slow down the chickens fast growth
lack of good bone solidity is blamed
so I would see the chickens get a fresh batch of oyster shell and granite grit in seperate feeders
and change this once a week hrowing used oyster shell out on the run where the chickens are at in day time
refreshing supply of oyster shell helps chickens to eat
more as they will pick thru the oyster shell for thier favorite pieces

personally I would give the bird effected
a high dose people calcium tablet ( at least 500 mg) once a day for two weeks
you will find it easy to put in the chickens mouth and then hold the beak shut and stroke the throat area so the bird swallows it

any questions email me

 

[Shineot]

Thanks for all of the advice. I wasn't able to get any calcium tablets, but the pharmacist suggested I use chalk, since that it the purest form of calcium. So, I have crushed up the chalk and put it in water and fed it to her with a syringe. She seems to be getting better, as she can stand up and walk short distances. She is still a bit wobbly though, and I've also noticed that her feet curl inwards when she walks. Do you have any ideas what might have caused that?