Chicken showing Neurological Symptoms? Help!!

[DoveStar]

Hello,

So the chicken in question is Scarlett, an almost 3 year old Wyandotte hen.

Yesterday morning, I went out to find Scarlet sitting on the ground, her head down, as the head hen(Annie) was pecking her pretty viciously on the top of her head. I rushed in to find Scarlett's head/comb pretty bloody and totally featherless. She was also panting pretty hard (We live in Phoenix, AZ, so it is around 100 degrees everyday.)

I was thinking she either hurt her leg/hip and couldn't run from Annie, or maybe she got overheated and borderline heat stroked so she was just laying there, too tired to move. I proceeded to bring Scarlett inside, used a damp paper towel to clean her head, and gradually syringed a decent amount of cool water into her beak. Within 15 minutes of this, she was no longer panting and just sat calmly on my lap. I checked her legs and hips (nothing wrong that I could see or feel) and then put some Vetricyn on her head. I had to leave for work soon, so Scarlett stayed in a medium sized dog crate with some food and water in my bathroom.

When I got home last night, she had finished all the food and water, pooped several times (looked totally normal), and was sleeping in the corner, However, when I peeked in the bathroom, she did open her eyes stand up, and looked alert and well.

Therefore, this morning I decided to put her outside to walk around (the rest of the flock are in a pen, separate from her). She walked around and scratched normally, but when o threw her some cut strawberries, she tried to run towards them, and promptly fell to her chest, flapping her wings a few times.

Scarlett just laid there a few seconds, looking confused, before getting up and walking the rest of the way to the berries.

This was when I noticed her pupils; one is normal-sized, whereas the other is about the size of a pinprick. Her right eye(normal one) adjusts when she is moved inside or outside, but her left eye(weird one) does not. It stays about the size of a pinprick. I know this is a sign of brain swelling or other pressure on the brain in humans, so this combined with the inability to move faster than a casual walk leads me to think something is wrong with her neurologically..

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you so much,
Amber

P.S. She is at a normal temp., a normal weight, has a normal(possibly above average lol) appetite, is drinking water, her poop is normal, and there's no nasal or eye discharge present.

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

How is she this morning? Have you separated her from the rest of the flock?

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

Here is a quote from someone else:

As someone who has experienced this with young birds, it sounds suspiciously like Marek's disease. She is the right age for it. It causes partial paralysis and the posture you describe is common with neck twisted and legs stuck out and toes curled.

It has happened to me before where I have found young birds wedged in awkward places under the roost and I have come to the conclusion that paralysis strikes whilst they are sleeping and after they fall, they flounder until they become stuck and after struggling for a bit they give up.
Marek's is a Herpes type virus and like people with cold sores it lies dormant until an outbreak is triggered. You don't know who has the virus until they have an outbreak and they shed the virus during an outbreak, infecting others. With Marek's the virus is shed via dander dust from the infected bird, which is then inhaled by the new host. Personally I don't isolate Marek's sufferers as I take the view that therest of the flock has probably already been exposed and isolating them stresses them which makes it worse. The only thing to be aware of is that the others may turn on her and then you will need to provide her with a safe enclosure and perhaps individualsupport.

I hope I am wrong, but only time will tell. The best you can do is vitaminsupplementation to support the immune system....Marek's compromises the immune system like AIDS. Vitamins Band C may be particularly helpful andensure the bird gets plenty of good quality food. Fermented feed orprobiotics should also help support the gut and hence the immune system.

Good luck with your girl and keep us posted on her progress.

Regards

Barbara

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

I'm not entirely sure my post which is quoted above (I am Barbara) is entirely appropriate in this case as the hen in question is 3 years old, not a juvenile like the bird my above post was about. Marek's normally exhibits first in birds that are under a year, usually under 25weeks. That said, ocular Marek's can cause odd pupils or discolouration of the iris, so it certainly could be a symptom of Marek's in this case but less likely because of the age of the bird.

@DoveStar

Have you recently added any new birds to your flock, in the past 3 months or has this bird exhibited unexplained lameness when she was younger?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I agree with @rebrascora at 3yrs old, it could be a number of things.

@DoveStar mentions in the first thread - hen was being pecked hard in the head, then has noticed a difference in pupils - which she notes has been seen as an indication of brain swelling. If this hen suffered head trauma, then this could cause the loss of balance, especially if she is having difficulty seeing. Of course this is speculation on my part.

The only thing I know to do is keep her well hydrated. Offer poultry vitamins in her water. Poultry Nutri-Drench has Vitamin E which is used to help treat neurological symptoms of wry neck - so it may help.

 

[Eggcessive]

A pinpoint pupil is a sign of ocular Mareks, but as others have said, it could be neurological along with the falling, possibly from a head injury. Other chickens sometimes can since that a flock mate has become ill, and may peck and hurt them. I would also suggest vitamins or some NutriDrench, fluids, and observation for a few days. Have you added any new birds to your flock in the last month or two? Mareks is more common in young birds, but can still affect older chickens when a carrier has come in contact. Hoepfully, it is not Mareks. If you should lose her, the only way to diagnose Mareks for sure, is through a necropsy done by a state vet or poultry lab on a refrigerated body. Some labs will euthanize a sick bird before a necropsy at no extra charge. Here is some contact info and a good link on Mareks:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

School of Veterinary Medicine
Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory University of Missouri
P.O. Box 6023
Columbia, MO 65205 Phone: (573) 882-6811
Fax: (573) 882-1411
Missouri Department of Agriculture
Animal Health Laboratory 216 El Mercado Plaza
Jefferson City, MO 65109 Phone: (573) 751-3460
Fax: (573) 751-5279
Missouri Department of Agriculture
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory P.O. Box 2510
701 North Miller Avenue
Springfield, MO 65802 Phone: (417) 895-6861
Fax: (417) 831-4766

 

[Wyorp Rock]

A pinpoint pupil is a sign of ocular Mareks, but as others have said, it could be neurological along with the falling, possibly from a head injury. Other chickens sometimes can since that a flock mate has become ill, and may peck and hurt them. I would also suggest vitamins or some NutriDrench, fluids, and observation for a few days. Have you added any new birds to your flock in the last month or two? Mareks is more common in young birds, but can still affect older chickens when a carrier has come in contact. Hoepfully, it is not Mareks. If you should lose her, the only way to diagnose Mareks for sure, is through a necropsy done by a state vet or poultry lab on a refrigerated body. Some labs will euthanize a sick bird before a necropsy at no extra charge. Here is some contact info and a good link on Mareks:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

School of Veterinary Medicine
Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory University of Missouri
P.O. Box 6023
Columbia, MO 65205 Phone: (573) 882-6811
Fax: (573) 882-1411
Missouri Department of Agriculture
Animal Health Laboratory 216 El Mercado Plaza
Jefferson City, MO 65109 Phone: (573) 751-3460
Fax: (573) 751-5279
Missouri Department of Agriculture
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory P.O. Box 2510
701 North Miller Avenue
Springfield, MO 65802 Phone: (417) 895-6861
Fax: (417) 831-4766

Good catch Kim I was only thinking of "grey eye" or irregular pupil - but pinpoint is a sign of Ocular Marek's.

 

[Mstreman]

This to add for future searchers. There is a Human syndrome called "Uhbertoff Sign" in which internal temperature rise causes signals in damaged demyelinnated nerves to be slowed or blocked. THis effects gait, vision-- both iris dilation and lens ability to focus. Many things can cause the damage to the myelin sheaths that insulate the nerves. Uhbertoff Sign is a set of symptoms that prove sheath damage-- not a cause diagnosis. The significant observation here was the fact that inside in the air conditioning the hen was fine but once outside in HOT Pheonix a few minutes long enough for her internal temperature to rise just a half degree C and trigger the reactions seen in Uhbertoff--balance, stumbling, eye dilation etc. Again Uhbertoff Sign is a name of a collection of symptoms NOT a disease. Im humans it can occur in multiple sclerosis or other viral infections. i note the symptom similarities between two herpes virii: Epsetein Barr Virus and Guillian- Barrette Syndrom in humans and Merrick's in Chickens,

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

I'm thinking she suffered a heat stroke, but I'm no expert.