Chick with broken leg? Please help!

[Wyorp Rock]

She was twisted with her head under her with her beak up, like she tried to preen her stomach and couldn't get up. She did the limp thing again too. Once I got her out of the box, her head stopped twisting. She perched and started eating.

For some reason it seems like when she is out of the box she does better, so I have been holding her while working on the computer. She is much more stable. She has been able to stretch without falling over and hasn't lost her balance since this morning.

If she's twisting up while in the box, can you leave her out of it? Perhaps place her in a dog crate that is bigger?

I'd work on hydration and try vitamin therapy. Give her 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily along with some egg.
See that she's eating her normal feed, try it dry or wet, whatever she likes.

 

[Chickengirl209]

I moved her into a bigger box.
The Nutri Drench really seems to be kicking in. this morning she was acting normal and was not in a weird position, and she was in control of her head. I gave her some water with Nutri Drencher in it, and she drank it willingly. She is peeping much less. She hasn't lost her balance, and at one point she jumped off my leg (flying about 1ft to the ground) she landed on her feet.
She has also been eating on her own, even when she is alone in her box. Her poop has stopped smelling and looking oily, they are dry, small and plentiful like they should be.

 

[Chickengirl209]

Bad news...
I let the chick out with the others after about a total of 5 days. She was acting normal, eating, drinking (escaping), etc. She was still slower and not as quick in her mind, though.

2 days ago I let the birds out to graze and found her not able to walk in a straight line, hiding in dark corners, and avoiding other birds. Her balance was not as it should have been either. By evening, she was doing the same things she had been doing when the symtoms started in the beginning of the month. This time, though, the symtoms did not lesson when I gave her water. She refused to eat. I gave her Nutri Drench and Save-a-Chick.
Yesterday I force fed her tuna, because where her crop should be was only a bone. More Nutri Drench and Save-a-Chick. She was walking in circles, and showing no sign of recovery, and was pretty much constintally twisting or flopping. Her head went anywhere but straight. It was very bad and looked like she could die at any point.
While I was holding her and trying to get her to drink, she threw up what seemed to be mucus. It was clear and of the same texture of mucus, and was slightly sticky. It was about 4in long, 1/3 centimeter thick.

Today:
When I woke up, she was able to walk. She wasn't flipping around. She was able to stand like normal, but she still wasn't steady. She stopped walking in circles. Still refused to eat. Gave her Nutri Drench in water, more Save-a-Chick. Force fed her tuna and some chick feed, but not much.

As time went on, her health seemed to decrease and she is flipping more, walking in circles a little, not pooping much. Her head started twisting worse. I force fed her more tuna and a small bit of feed. Gave her a drop of Nutri Drench straight without water. Gave her normal water as well.
While I was working with her she spewed more of the mucus stuff, same dimensions.

Her poop seems normal, more white capped than usual. Nothing coming out of her nose that I can see, unless the mucus came out of her nose, but I figure it must have come out of her mouth because there was no remnant of mucus on her face.

Please help. I am very worried about her. Also if it is Marek's or not. None of my other birds have been showing symtoms. There is one bird that I am kind of worried about. She is a Buff Orpington, 9.5wks old. She is small and very light compared to the others. Her crop is about a third how hard it could be (I checked her in the middle of the day). She does not drink or eat when I put food or water in front of her. Gave her tuna and Nutri Drench. She likes grass, though. She is hesitant in getting out of the coop, does not run even when you try to catch her, and does not strugle. Maybe she is just a nice girl? It just seems odd when all the other birds are acting fiesty.
I gave both my hens and chicks some nutri drench in their water.

I have a couple questions before I sign off:
What is the time frame from time abtained to time of symtoms with the twisting neck for Marek's?
If it is Mareks, is there anyway to stop it, and what is the mortality rate? How quickly does it spread?
I am thinking about getting a stool sample for the chick with the twisting neck. Would Marek's or another disease come up in a stool sample, or do you have to do a different type of sample? What is the average cost for a sample and how long does it take?
The last question, and one I hope not to have to do, but, how do you humanely cull a chick?

Thank you all. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Chickengirl209]

@Kiki
@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive
@U_Stormcrow
@coach723
@Miss Lydia
@CIVA
@aart
@Mrs. K
@nuthatched
@Ridgerunner
@rosemarythyme
Sorry I keep on tagging you all...

 

[Kiki]

Bad news...
I let the chick out with the others after about a total of 5 days. She was acting normal, eating, drinking (escaping), etc. She was still slower and not as quick in her mind, though.

2 days ago I let the birds out to graze and found her not able to walk in a straight line, hiding in dark corners, and avoiding other birds. Her balance was not as it should have been either. By evening, she was doing the same things she had been doing when the symtoms started in the beginning of the month. This time, though, the symtoms did not lesson when I gave her water. She refused to eat. I gave her Nutri Drench and Save-a-Chick.
Yesterday I force fed her tuna, because where her crop should be was only a bone. More Nutri Drench and Save-a-Chick. She was walking in circles, and showing no sign of recovery, and was pretty much constintally twisting or flopping. Her head went anywhere but straight. It was very bad and looked like she could die at any point.
While I was holding her and trying to get her to drink, she threw up what seemed to be mucus. It was clear and of the same texture of mucus, and was slightly sticky. It was about 4in long, 1/3 centimeter thick.

Today:
When I woke up, she was able to walk. She wasn't flipping around. She was able to stand like normal, but she still wasn't steady. She stopped walking in circles. Still refused to eat. Gave her Nutri Drench in water, more Save-a-Chick. Force fed her tuna and some chick feed, but not much.

As time went on, her health seemed to decrease and she is flipping more, walking in circles a little, not pooping much. Her head started twisting worse. I force fed her more tuna and a small bit of feed. Gave her a drop of Nutri Drench straight without water. Gave her normal water as well.
While I was working with her she spewed more of the mucus stuff, same dimensions.

Her poop seems normal, more white capped than usual. Nothing coming out of her nose that I can see, unless the mucus came out of her nose, but I figure it must have come out of her mouth because there was no remnant of mucus on her face.

Please help. I am very worried about her. Also if it is Marek's or not. None of my other birds have been showing symtoms. There is one bird that I am kind of worried about. She is a Buff Orpington, 9.5wks old. She is small and very light compared to the others. Her crop is about a third how hard it could be (I checked her in the middle of the day). She does not drink or eat when I put food or water in front of her. Gave her tuna and Nutri Drench. She likes grass, though. She is hesitant in getting out of the coop, does not run even when you try to catch her, and does not strugle. Maybe she is just a nice girl? It just seems odd when all the other birds are acting fiesty.
I gave both my hens and chicks some nutri drench in their water.

I have a couple questions before I sign off:
What is the time frame from time abtained to time of symtoms with the twisting neck for Marek's?
If it is Mareks, is there anyway to stop it, and what is the mortality rate? How quickly does it spread?
I am thinking about getting a stool sample for the chick with the twisting neck. Would Marek's or another disease come up in a stool sample, or do you have to do a different type of sample? What is the average cost for a sample and how long does it take?
The last question, and one I hope not to have to do, but, how do you humanely cull a chick?

Thank you all. Any advice would be appreciated.

She got a little better when you were making sure she was getting food and giving her Nurti-Drench, right?
Then she got worse again when you added her back to the flock?


Are you tubing her the food straight to the crop?
It sounds like you might be forcing it and perhaps causing some to go down the wrong pipe in the mouth which is bad.

Marek's test is done at necropsy.
No way to stop Marek's disease...and if it were Marek's ( I don't really think it is) your other birds would all be carriers too and could start with symptoms.

Her eating grass could cause crop issues which could block her from getting nutrition.

I am just thinking out loud here.



You can either continue to try or put her down.
If you wnat to continue to try I'd recommend learning how to tube feed.

 

[Chickengirl209]

She got a little better when you were making sure she was getting food and giving her Nurti-Drench, right?
Then she got worse again when you added her back to the flock?


Are you tubing her the food straight to the crop?
It sounds like you might be forcing it and perhaps causing some to go down the wrong pipe in the mouth which is bad.

Marek's test is done at necropsy.
No way to stop Marek's disease...and if it were Marek's ( I don't really think it is) your other birds would all be carriers too and could start with symptoms.

Her eating grass could cause crop issues which could block her from getting nutrition.

I am just thinking out loud here.



You can either continue to try or put her down.
If you wnat to continue to try I'd recommend learning how to tube feed.

Yes, she got better the first time and fell back into sickness after adding her to the flock. She still seemed to be eating, though. This time she did make a recovery, but a couple hours later, even though we were still giving her medicine, she went back to being sick.

No, I am not tubing food. How do you do that?
If I was tube feeding, would that fix the issue with her crop, or would I continue having to do it indefinitly?
I feel bad watching her suffer... Poor dear.

 

[Kiki]

Yes, she got better the first time and fell back into sickness after adding her to the flock. She still seemed to be eating, though. This time she did make a recovery, but a couple hours later, even though we were still giving her medicine, she went back to being sick.

No, I am not tubing food. How do you do that?
If I was tube feeding, would that fix the issue with her crop, or would I continue having to do it indefinitly?
I feel bad watching her suffer... Poor dear.

No tube feeding won't fix a crop issues but it would provide more nutrition and fluids to ensure she was getting enough....to see if that helps her. It's just a guessing game to try to figure out what's wrong with her and it's the first thing to try/to make sure of.

You basically stick a tube down her throat into her crop and push the food through the tube.
It's not something everyone is cut out for and I myself would not tube feed a bird. I would rather put it down and end it suffering.

 

[Chickengirl209]

No tube feeding won't fix a crop issues but it would provide more nutrition and fluids to ensure she was getting enough....to see if that helps her. It's just a guessing game to try to figure out what's wrong with her and it's the first thing to try/to make sure of.

You basically stick a tube down her throat into her crop and push the food through the tube.
It's not something everyone is cut out for and I myself would not tube feed a bird. I would rather put it down and end it suffering.

Yeah, I think I probably will have to put her down. What do you think caused it? The crop issue, or something else?

 

[Chickengirl209]

Thanks for replying @Kiki
It is nice to have people that you can ask questions to... It's hard to try to diagnose something when you don't have expirience.

 

[Kiki]

Yeah, I think I probably will have to put her down. What do you think caused it? The crop issue, or something else?

I don't know...and I wouldn't worry too much about a cause unless more start getting sick.