Chicken cannot really walk falls to one side

[mccotter]

Hello fellow chicken lovers,

I have a seven month old barred rock that started to act strange two days ago. She could walk normally and then would collapse to one side and not able to get up on her own.
I have since brought her in and isolated her in a crate with food and water because the other hens were picking on her.
She is still eating and drinking.
Any Ideas or thoughts are greatly appreciated.

THank you
Casey

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello fellow chicken lovers,

I have a seven month old barred rock that started to act strange two days ago. She could walk normally and then would collapse to one side and not able to get up on her own.
I have since brought her in and isolated her in a crate with food and water because the other hens were picking on her.
She is still eating and drinking.
Any Ideas or thoughts are greatly appreciated.

THank you
Casey

Hi @mccotter Welcome To BYC
Do you have photos or a video of your pullet? (for video, upload to youtube or similar platform, then provide us a link)

What type of food/treats do you feed?
Has your girl started laying eggs yet?
What does her poop look like?
Have you added any new birds to your flock within the last 30days?
Where are you located in the world (state/country) this can be very helpful when suggesting treatment options.

I'm sorry your pullet is not doing well. If she has started laying eggs, have you checked to make sure she doesn't have any egg stuck?
Any chance that she ate anything moldy, toxic/poisonous?

With chickens it can be very hard sometimes to pinpoint what is going on with them, look her over for any signs of injury or leg/foot/joint swelling. At 7 months, it's always possible that the symptoms you are seeing is due to disease like Marek's, but it would be good to try to rule out anything else. If you can take a stool sample to your vet for testing of worms/coccidiosis that's always a good idea.

In the meantime, do what you can to keep her hydrated and eating. Poultry Vitamins may give her a boost.

Look forward to your photos and more information.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Sorry your girl is having trouble.

Is she laying eggs? When was the last one? How long have you had her? Was she vaccinated against Marek's? What do you feed including treats and supplements? Did you check for any swelling, heat or pain response in the leg? Are you able to post a pic or video?

 

[mccotter]

Thank you for responding

She try’s to walk and then falls like this. She can move her legs and wings but cannot right herself. Her poop is mostly runny diarrhea with a greenish tint.
She was vaccinated for Marek’s. I don’t think she has started laying yet. However I did check for an impacted egg. All of my other Hens seem to be fine. She eats layer pellets, some oyster shells, and some veggie scraps. She free ranges when my husband and I are home. She is currently inside in a crate with food and water.
Thank you
Casey

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for responding

She try’s to walk and then falls like this. She can move her legs and wings but cannot right herself. Her poop is mostly runny diarrhea with a greenish tint.
She was vaccinated for Marek’s. I don’t think she has started laying yet. However I did check for an impacted egg. All of my other Hens seem to be fine. She eats layer pellets, some oyster shells, and some veggie scraps. She free ranges when my husband and I are home. She is currently inside in a crate with food and water.
Thank you
Casey
View attachment 1679762

With her age and symptoms I would lean toward this being Marek's, but there's no way to know for sure without testing. If you lose her, send the body to your state lab for more information.

There is no cure for Marek's, so all that can be done is to offer supportive care. You may want have some stool samples tested to make sure worms or even coccidiosis is not causing her problems.
She may benefit from extra protein and b-vitamins. You can give her 1/4tablet B-complex daily for a week to see if those help.
The Marek's vaccine does not prevent infection from the virus. It may help stop the formation of tumors on the internal organs.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq


If she is eating/drinking o.k. you can use a sling to help support her and keep her upright for supervised periods of time.

 

[Ms Clucky]

Look for injuries in the thighs.

 

[hunthaven]

From November through December I lost seven vaccinated birds to Marek's. My advice is to separate your sick girl immediately. Treat her symptoms and see if she improves--if she does, no worries. If she doesn't, and it is Marek's, you now have Marek's in your flock and you need to brace yourself to losing more. What I did after I lost the third bird and had the diagnosis confirmed by necropsy:
1) I stopped doing deep litter and started cleaning the coop down to the boards, then disinfecting with Odoban once a week. The Marek's virus lives in dander, so blow out/vaccuum all those ledges and hidden places. 2). I did not add any more birds to the flock until they were at least five months old. 3). I started giving my birds the Marek's vaccine at 7-10 days old as a booster shot. The single dose they got at the hatchery didn't cut it. 4) I started wearing booties in the coop and took them off immediately when I exited the chicken run. No sense in spreading the virus all over the property.

Hope this is helpful, and I hope your girl snaps out of her imbalance problem. Marek's is fatal, but you can take steps to save your remaining flock.