Chick with wobbly legs.

[degroovie]

Just wondering how your chick is doing. Mine seems to be having the same problems. I've started her on polyvitamin liquid for infants today, using only two or three drops in feed, and electolytes. I thought Meraks, but she was vaccinated at the hatchery. I thought possible contamination in the water. Her penmate likes to stand on the water bottle and poop into the water. Now, I'm thinking a vitamin deficiency. She was a little droopy three nights ago, run but wobbled around the yard two days ago, but from yesterday to today, her legs remain extended and she can't get up. Shakey legs, like yours. She eats a lot, appears active, and is my children's favorite so I would like to do all I can for her. Is there a way to turn her around, or is all hope lost. What happened to your chick? Most people tell me chicks just go downhill after illness. I'm trying to be optimistic. When I look in her eyes, I can't give up yet.

Should I be using more than two or three drops a day of polyvitamin liquid for a 5-week old pullet, anyone?

 

[Haunted55]

Just wondering how your chick is doing. Mine seems to be having the same problems. I've started her on polyvitamin liquid for infants today, using only two or three drops in feed, and electolytes. I thought Meraks, but she was vaccinated at the hatchery. I thought possible contamination in the water. Her penmate likes to stand on the water bottle and poop into the water. Now, I'm thinking a vitamin deficiency. She was a little droopy three nights ago, run but wobbled around the yard two days ago, but from yesterday to today, her legs remain extended and she can't get up. Shakey legs, like yours. She eats a lot, appears active, and is my children's favorite so I would like to do all I can for her. Is there a way to turn her around, or is all hope lost. What happened to your chick? Most people tell me chicks just go downhill after illness. I'm trying to be optimistic. When I look in her eyes, I can't give up yet.

Should I be using more than two or three drops a day of polyvitamin liquid for a 5-week old pullet, anyone?

No you shouldn't Poly has fat soluble vitamins in it and they can build up to lethal doses very quickly, especially if the chick isn't active or active enough.

Look, have you checked them cocci? That's what this sounds like. Even if you are feeding medicated feed there is still always the chance that they can be over run with a amprolium resistant strain. Even if vaccinated for it at the hatchery, coccidiosis call still rear it's ugly head. And I hate to tell you this...but it's the same with the Marek's. Need more information and a picture or two if you could do that. What you're feeding, any treats, etc., they all need to be looked at.

 

[rdilbarova]

Just wondering how your chick is doing. Mine seems to be having the same problems. I've started her on polyvitamin liquid for infants today, using only two or three drops in feed, and electolytes. I thought Meraks, but she was vaccinated at the hatchery. I thought possible contamination in the water. Her penmate likes to stand on the water bottle and poop into the water. Now, I'm thinking a vitamin deficiency. She was a little droopy three nights ago, run but wobbled around the yard two days ago, but from yesterday to today, her legs remain extended and she can't get up. Shakey legs, like yours. She eats a lot, appears active, and is my children's favorite so I would like to do all I can for her. Is there a way to turn her around, or is all hope lost. What happened to your chick? Most people tell me chicks just go downhill after illness. I'm trying to be optimistic. When I look in her eyes, I can't give up yet.

Should I be using more than two or three drops a day of polyvitamin liquid for a 5-week old pullet, anyone?

I have heard that Marek's can come up again even if they have been vaccinated. My information is this: the vaccination that they use is for turkeys, and so if Marek's DOES appear, they still have it, just at a less extreme manifestation. I have not verified this information- this is just what I have read.
I do not know about cocci- but the supreme bird expert says that it can appear (aka Haunted55) so I would take their word for it.


Mine is actually 95% better. Yesterday the falling back stopped and she is running around like normal and is actually more active and curious then the other birds. They do still bully her, so I keep her separated for half the day so she can still have a recovery period. The only reason that I let her back in is because she jumped over a box edge that was almost 2 feet MULTIPLE times to be with them and I thought it would do her good to be with other chicks for a while.


I gave her something called vita-drops that I found at my local petsmart or pets plus (don't remember which) and gave her the smaller (canary) dose in her water and double dose, one ml, via pipette twice daily. I also gave her egg yolk on three occasions.


Now I am doing this only once daily and giving her access to regular water. My question to Haunted-- how long do I keep up the vites for?


My suggestion to you- if it IS a deficiency (and I honestly am not the person to ask about that), I would isolate because the others tend to bully. Also, watch out for overdosing! I did a lot of research on the vitamins I bought because they had B (which you cannot overdo) and E (which you can) among others.
B and E deficiency both appear to lead to wobbly legs so I wanted drops that covered both bases, which is why I switched from regular B vitamins which did not seem to work for me to vitadrops. I read that if a chick is E deficient you do not have to worry about dose, but I would not take that risk, especially if you don't know if it truly is E deficient or not.

That's the method I used, and the improvement I have seen in my chick has been amazing.

 

[rdilbarova]

This is what I used:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753549&clickid=cart

 

[degroovie]

Oh no.

I thought I was doing the right thing with polyvitamins. How toxic could it be? Somewhere on the thread someone else used this. I also used Epson salts in water this weekend. I broke a vitamin e capsule in "Amber's" feed today. I have been giving her a cooked egg yolk mixed with cooked oats and yogurt. And, the electrolytes. She seems to eat fine, loves the eggs, but I'm not seeing any improvements.

I'll try to send a photo, but my family is already growing tired of me on the internet researching. I have to make dinner, and I'm spending my extra time with Amber, taking her out when the sun and weather is hot, cleaning her poop (which looks fine), etc. She just looks like an actively alert chicken, when not sleeping, with legs stretched out. Her legs appear to be stiff when I try to bend them.

I haven't looked at a bacterial culture (cocci), but may finally go to the vet tomorrow. I'm just so unsure what to do.

Really, I'm so sad when I see her, it tears me up.

 

[Haunted55]

I have heard that Marek's can come up again even if they have been vaccinated. My information is this: the vaccination that they use is for turkeys, and so if Marek's DOES appear, they still have it, just at a less extreme manifestation. I have not verified this information- this is just what I have read.
I do not know about cocci- but the supreme bird expert says that it can appear (aka Haunted55) so I would take their word for it.


Mine is actually 95% better. Yesterday the falling back stopped and she is running around like normal and is actually more active and curious then the other birds. They do still bully her, so I keep her separated for half the day so she can still have a recovery period. The only reason that I let her back in is because she jumped over a box edge that was almost 2 feet MULTIPLE times to be with them and I thought it would do her good to be with other chicks for a while.


I gave her something called vita-drops that I found at my local petsmart or pets plus (don't remember which) and gave her the smaller (canary) dose in her water and double dose, one ml, via pipette twice daily. I also gave her egg yolk on three occasions.


Now I am doing this only once daily and giving her access to regular water. My question to Haunted-- how long do I keep up the vites for?


My suggestion to you- if it IS a deficiency (and I honestly am not the person to ask about that), I would isolate because the others tend to bully. Also, watch out for overdosing! I did a lot of research on the vitamins I bought because they had B (which you cannot overdo) and E (which you can) among others.
B and E deficiency both appear to lead to wobbly legs so I wanted drops that covered both bases, which is why I switched from regular B vitamins which did not seem to work for me to vitadrops. I read that if a chick is E deficient you do not have to worry about dose, but I would not take that risk, especially if you don't know if it truly is E deficient or not.

That's the method I used, and the improvement I have seen in my chick has been amazing.

Supreme bird expert....snort...if only. If I were not a one of us would have a single thing to worry about, I'd make sure of it, lol.

Marek's....you are correct with most of this. Some of the hatcheries us 3 different types of Marek's vaccine and one of them is the turkey Marek's. It is also true that Marek's can rear it's ugly head even if all three are given. In the words of Seminolewind, "Marek's is like fighting a ghost." Please be careful with the "M" word. There are a lot of different things that can cause leg issues in our birds.

As for the vitamins, if the bird is showing improvement, I would go a couple of days beyond the improvement date and then go from there. If you see signs of her failing again, you may need to think about either changing their feed or giving the whole flock some kind of a poultry vitamin.

 

[rdilbarova]

Supreme bird expert....snort...if only. If I were not a one of us would have a single thing to worry about, I'd make sure of it, lol.

Marek's....you are correct with most of this. Some of the hatcheries us 3 different types of Marek's vaccine and one of them is the turkey Marek's. It is also true that Marek's can rear it's ugly head even if all three are given. In the words of Seminolewind, "Marek's is like fighting a ghost." Please be careful with the "M" word. There are a lot of different things that can cause leg issues in our birds.

As for the vitamins, if the bird is showing improvement, I would go a couple of days beyond the improvement date and then go from there. If you see signs of her failing again, you may need to think about either changing their feed or giving the whole flock some kind of a poultry vitamin.

Well you are in my eyes!

But gotcha, that's what I planned on doing, I was just unsure for how long. Thanks!!

 

[rdilbarova]

Oh no.

I thought I was doing the right thing with polyvitamins. How toxic could it be? Somewhere on the thread someone else used this. I also used Epson salts in water this weekend. I broke a vitamin e capsule in "Amber's" feed today. I have been giving her a cooked egg yolk mixed with cooked oats and yogurt. And, the electrolytes. She seems to eat fine, loves the eggs, but I'm not seeing any improvements.

I'll try to send a photo, but my family is already growing tired of me on the internet researching. I have to make dinner, and I'm spending my extra time with Amber, taking her out when the sun and weather is hot, cleaning her poop (which looks fine), etc. She just looks like an actively alert chicken, when not sleeping, with legs stretched out. Her legs appear to be stiff when I try to bend them.

I haven't looked at a bacterial culture (cocci), but may finally go to the vet tomorrow. I'm just so unsure what to do.

Really, I'm so sad when I see her, it tears me up.

Well when did you notice her acting up?
I noticed mine around 4 days before I took action, and it was 8 days between when I started her on vitamins and when she returned more or less to normal. It was 4-5 days between when I started vites and when I saw ANY worthwhile improvement, so it may take a while if it is a deficiency. Don't give up!
And I would let her return to her regular food and have everything else be a little supplement because chicks need a very balanced diet at this age.

 

[Haunted55]

Oh no.

I thought I was doing the right thing with polyvitamins. How toxic could it be? Somewhere on the thread someone else used this. I also used Epson salts in water this weekend. I broke a vitamin e capsule in "Amber's" feed today. I have been giving her a cooked egg yolk mixed with cooked oats and yogurt. And, the electrolytes. She seems to eat fine, loves the eggs, but I'm not seeing any improvements.

I'll try to send a photo, but my family is already growing tired of me on the internet researching. I have to make dinner, and I'm spending my extra time with Amber, taking her out when the sun and weather is hot, cleaning her poop (which looks fine), etc. She just looks like an actively alert chicken, when not sleeping, with legs stretched out. Her legs appear to be stiff when I try to bend them.

I haven't looked at a bacterial culture (cocci), but may finally go to the vet tomorrow. I'm just so unsure what to do.

Really, I'm so sad when I see her, it tears me up.

Calm down,lol, you're fine! Really. I need to know what type of vaccination for Marek's the bird has had and any other vaccines given. If you don't know the Marek's type, the name of the hatchery may help. McMurray uses all three types as a matter of course.

Now please, tell me exactly how she is holding her legs. You are saying stretched out but i need to be sure just what you are talking about. To the side? One in front and one in back? Please, just be calm and i may be able to help you. You have to be my eyes. I cannot see her from here.

 

[degroovie]

Thank you for all your well wishes and responses.

Our "Amber" is holding both of her legs down together, while she is resting on one side. She can't stand up at all. I have isolated her, changed to a medicated feed, feed her eggs and yogurt (her favorite) with her feed, and give her electrolytes. She is not much interested in her feed alone.

We live on an island in Washington state, so the only B vitamins are in tablet form (B2, B6, B12) which I was unsure which to used. I got an electrolyte/ vitamin mix (Save A chick) from my daughter's poultry teacher, but it had a .25 ounces of powder per GALLON of water. Even if I reduce down to a quart, I'm not sure I'm giving enough. With possible E and/ or B deficiencies, I thought Poly Vi Sol in small amounts in her water would help. At this point, I'm trying anything.

As for Amber, she is wasting away. I feed and hydrate her every hour or so, with the exception of the night. I actually got up at 2:00 in the morning last night to feed her, though. My husband says keep trying. My eight-year old daughter, loves her so much, I can't give up entirely. We take her to the garden, let her sit in the sun. She can see her other penmates, and cheeps for them. She tries to raise her wings and legs, but I don't see much improvement. The first night we isolated Amber from the others, one of her penmates kept churping for her. She now has green poo with wet liquid, which sounds like slow starvation. She just looks up at us with bright eyes and peeps so sweetly, it's hard to give up.

I was going to take her to the vet, but wanted to give the electrolytes and vitamins a little time.

Now, I thinking big questions about LIFE, the quality, the responsibility of these living things in our care. We just buried my sons favorite chick last month, so it's harder to imagine doing so soon. We just started our first flock this summer, thinking the children old enough to take care of the hens. Honestly, I'm not so sure I'm ready for some much loss in our lives. It would have been better if we found her dead in the morning. I'm worst than my daughter at this point. I think my daughter has some hope for a turn around.

And, to make matters worst, I confirmed that my daughter's teacher didn't get the chicks vaccinated for Meraks from the MM hatchery. It cost 16 cents! Not to blame anyone, most of my chicken-raising friends don't think Meraks is too common. Every book I read says its very common, so why are all these knowledgeable backyard poultry owners not reading the same books as me? Why not vaccinate them???! I've spent a lot of heartache over something that may have been prevented. Two days ago, I assumed Amber was vaccinated, now, I'm starting to think you were right. Meraks. What an ugly way to go.

Reading the other threads on Meraks, my heart goes out to the others that have lost a whole flock. If nothing more than support, I thank you for your kind-hearted thoughts and well wishes. I really don't know what I will do with Amber at this time.