Chick losing control left side

[Jynuine]

If she dies, have her tested at the lab.
-Kathy

She is still ticking away only now both her legs are straight in front of her. How long can she live like this? I hate culling but she lives in my bathroom floor during the day in a towel. She eats and drinks but is frustrated she can't get around. I feel horribly for her.

 

[MrsBrooke]

I hate to suggest it, but if she shows no signs of recovering, perhaps her quality of life is something to consider. I would definitely send her in for a necropsy and tests, especially since the cause of her difficulties is unknown, and the health of the whole flock must be put first. It's possible she's got Marek's, having seizures, or suffering from some other neurological disease.

It's a terrible decision to make, but some times, it is for the best.

I'm sorry we weren't able to help your little mama.

MrsB

 

[casportpony]

Quote: You could try de-worming with Safeguard at 0.23ml per pound for five days and treating with Corid. I have read about birds being paralyzed from worms and coccidiosis. Have you tried the vitamins I suggested?

-Kathy

 

[Jynuine]

Okay! Yes I did try the vitamins (Pipi is still alive and doing well 2 1/2 weeks later in my bathroom!) and she has a hearty appetite.
So, basicly at this point her left eye is fine now but both her legs dont really work. Both feet curl but she can move the legs a bit around- just not coordinate them? She doesnt have any resp issues at all.
I did call the numbers posted to me in this thread and I talked with them about her. He was more interested in the bird flu and sent a guy out to test them.

Good news is: they dont have bird flu
Bad news is: they ONLY test for bird flu

So back to square 1.
I have a towel I lay out in my bathroom and I pour out some chicken feed with a shallow bowl of water and she stays there for most of the day laying on her side. Throughout the day- maybe every 20 minutes to an hour or two- I will go in and move her around picking her up cradling her so she is upright to drink and eat sometimes, and when I put her back on the floor on her side she will reach out her head to eat a bit then start chirping and flopping around usually disturbing her water and ending up in the middle of her food, and Ill move her aside so she doesnt poop in it. She is just so darn irritated at herself.
Sometimes I take some vitamin electrolyte water and feed it to her from a syringe which she does very well making sure she has enough fluids. Her droppings are perfect. For the most part other than her paralysis she is a totally normal chick. I brought her mama in for a few the other day and she was really happy chirping away but mama had no interest in being mama anymore and just wanted her food and to knock things over so I put her back out. That was that. But Pipi seemed happy to have her company for a bit and mama didnt even once peck at her.
Thank goodness they were both small.

At night when it gets dark, I have a small rectangular wicker basket and I roll up some felt cloth into a coil and put a cloth baby diaper in it like a nest and set her in there upright so she is off her ribs. Then I tuck her under the bedside table to the baby doesnt get to her and she goes to sleep.

So I havent even considered worms- she has never touched dirt though so I dont see how she could have gotten any. She was born in a nursery of sorts in a rabbit like hutch brooder we made with clean pine litter and stayed there with her broody hen bantam mama until this happened. Doesnt hurt to try though?
I will say we lost one of our older American blackbelly wether lambs wednesday apparently to worms. They are supposed to be pretty parasite resistant and we had been trying to get his weight up for a while. The rest of the flock looked totally fine. He was crashing Tues night and so we took him to the vet Wed morning and she did a fecal and found the worms. She said they were breed specific though? Everything looked fine too- his eyes showed no signs of worms and he wasnt dehydrated. But he had no meat on him- he was literally wool and bones.

So we are treating to rest of the flock- but Im not sure it would have effected the chick or how?The vet said it shouldnt and that he probably was sucseptable because he was already a runt.

Really Im not sure what to do. My husband has coined her, "Pipi- the Paralysed Parapalegic poultry Pullet" and said last week that she has a week before we need to make a decision. Its been a week 4 days since that and I havent asked him for any help fearing he may remember his statement.
I really have got a system down and it's so hard to even consider euthanizing her when she is such a good eater.

Im seriously debating consulting a vet on this- because I dont know if this could effect my flock or if there is anything else I could be doing?

 

[rebrascora]

So sorry to hear that she hasn't made much improvement. I understand your dilemma as I am in the same boat. As I said, I have two in sick bay and one is very similar to yours in that she is more or less nest bound and both feet/ legs stick out and needs to be propped up. Every once in a while she gets up onto one of them with support from her wings but she can't balance and pitches forward onto her beak. I keep telling myself that if she is no better in a few days I need to cull her, but like your pullet, she is enthusiastic to eat and is pooping normal, albeit that she is soiling herself most of the time because she can't stand up, so I extend the deadline. Yesterday I found an egg in her nest. Neither her nor her "hopping" sick bay pal have ever laid although they are both of an age to start and they both snuggle together in the nest on a night, so it could be either... both have red combs. With having Marek's I didn't think either of them would start laying, so I was gob smacked to find it.

I'm thinking of rigging up a hammock for her, so that she is suspended but can, if she wishes, put her foot to the floor and take her weight, but still be supported. I've seen some pictures on here and I'm hoping that if I get it right she won't be soiling herself anymore and it will be simple to clean out underneath perhaps with a poop tray. Food and water containers can be attached to the frame so they can't be knocked over. I did even consider if wheels could be put on it, so that she could propel herself about in it like a chicken wheelchair. But maybe that is going too far!

Anyway, good luck with her. I would be tempted to set up a sick bay for her within the hen house like mine rather than in your bathroom as she really needs the companionship of other hens. I have an old sideboard that I used as a brooder last summer. I have cut holes out of the doors and covered them with Perspex or chicken wire, so that they can see the others but still be safe.

Hope it helps to know you are not the only one going through this.

Best wishes

Barbara

PS. As regards the vet, if it is Marek's (it really does sound like it and it is one of the commonest diseases of chickens), there is no treatment and they will probably recommend culling, but your flock has already been exposed to it, so there seems no point in my opinion. You also risk spreading it by taking her to the vets. If she dies or you do cull her then it probably would be wise to have a necropsy done to confirm it, so you know for sure. The difficulty with vets is that most practices don't have one who knows much about poultry, but don't want to turn away a customer, so whilst you are paying for an expert opinion, they may well know very little.

 

[MrsBrooke]

PS. As regards the vet, if it is Marek's (it really does sound like it and it is one of the commonest diseases of chickens), there is no treatment and they will probably recommend culling, but your flock has already been exposed to it, so there seems no point in my opinion. You also risk spreading it by taking her to the vets. If she dies or you do cull her then it probably would be wise to have a necropsy done to confirm it, so you know for sure. The difficulty with vets is that most practices don't have one who knows much about poultry, but don't want to turn away a customer, so whilst you are paying for an expert opinion, they may well know very little.

X 1,000, especially the vet bits,

That moment when your vet starts a sentence with, "Well, I read on Backyard Chickens that......" Quoted. Verbatim. I'll never forget it.

I knew I just paid $65 for the pleasure of hearing someone recite stuff I could have read on here for free. Dogs and cats need vets. You are your chicken's best option for health care, in my opinion.

MrsB

 

[casportpony]

X 1,000, especially the vet bits,

That moment when your vet starts a sentence with, "Well, I read on Backyard Chickens that......" Quoted. Verbatim. I'll never forget it.

I knew I just paid $65 for the pleasure of hearing someone recite stuff I could have read on here for free. Dogs and cats need vets. You are your chicken's best option for health care, in my opinion.

MrsB

No offense to anyone here on BYC, but if my vet ever said something like "Well, I read on Backyard Chickens that......" , I think I'd find a new vet.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

While some vets might not have much experience with birds, they do have access to sites and material that we don't.

-Kathy

 

[MrsBrooke]

No offense to anyone here on BYC, but if my vet ever said something like "Well, I read on Backyard Chickens that......" , I think I'd find a new vet.

-Kathy

She's awesome for dogs, cats, and exotic birds... But she has zero experience with chickens. I can't *blame* her for that. It's not like they have Chicken 101... The "pet care" scene for chickens is relatively new as the chicken-keeping thing becomes vogue.

As you said under that, they do, though, have learning and knowledge and experience and access to materials that IS very useful.

MrsB

 

[casportpony]

Lol, I think I would freak out if I went to a vet with a sick bird and they mentioned BYC. Again, no offense to anyone here. Would be the same if I asked a small animal vet to look at my horse and they mentioned that their treatment was something they read about on a horse forum.

-Kathy