Chicken struggling with balance

[Fourchicken07855]

Ok so this is my first time using this website. Two days ago we noticed one of our four chickens was looking a bit funny. She was displaying the symptoms for being egg bound so we put her in a warm Epsom salt bath(we have done this before for another chicken) and massaged her vent. It also said to put a finger up her vent so this is what we did. This time we couldn’t feel an egg stuck. We kept her in the bath with a vented box and a towel. When we took her out her comb was slightly purple and floppy. After looking this up we figured it was because she had been in a warm bath so the comb was due to overheating. We took her back out and replaced her in the coop with the three others where she seemed to have trouble balancing and eventually just lay down and closed her eyes taking surprisingly slow breaths. We left her there to see what would happen and that night she didn’t go up the ramp into our coop but lay in a small hole underneath it looking like she was dying. This morning we have taken her out and put her in a small box(as shown in the photo).

During all this we noticed another chicken was displaying the same symptoms puffed up, bum low to the ground and now we are worried two of our chickens will die because we don’t know what is wrong with them so we can’t medicate!
Please could someone let me know what is wrong!
Thank you

 

[Fourchicken07855]

Wyorp Rock may be able to help you.
May have to wait a few hours though as they are likely in a different time zone.
Hope your hen feels better soon.

Thank you
Though I think she is getting worse I will keep my fingers crossed

 

[Fourchicken07855]

Yay
Good news
She has pooped
I think this is a good sign but it is quite runny

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

Could it be Mareks?

 

[Fourchicken07855]

I had a pullet with the same thing, she couldn’t uncurl her feet or balance...her wings were drooped and her neck was twisted...she wasn’t lethargic and had a good appetite, but she was gasping and seemed in pain so we’ve had to put her down

I hope and still think it wasn’t mareks because none of my others are sick, but it can lay dormant for a while...fingers crossed...

I suggested it was Marek's because another one of yours is sick. Have you been near another person's flock recently? Have you been quarantining new birds?

Thanks so much.

I had a pullet with the same thing, she couldn’t uncurl her feet or balance...her wings were drooped and her neck was twisted...she wasn’t lethargic and had a good appetite, but she was gasping and seemed in pain so we’ve had to put her down

I hope and still think it wasn’t mareks because none of my others are sick, but it can lay dormant for a while...fingers crossed...

I suggested it was Marek's because another one of yours is sick. Have you been near another person's flock recently? Have you been quarantining new birds?

thanks so much for all the suggestions. We haven’t been near a flock recently or quarantining new birds. Unfortunately the chicken seems to be getting worse (isn’t eating but I have successfully got her to drink a little) and we might end up putting it down. We have taken her out of the box nad at the moment she is just sort of collapsed on the grass in the shade. We will have to keep an eye on the other one too but it actually seems much better now so hopefully it will stay that way. I am praying it isnt Marek‘s and doesnt spread to the other three but the best I can do is hope. It is encouraging that none of yours got it and I am hoping it stays the same way for you. Thank you again for all the suggestions and useful info.

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

Thanks so much.

thanks so much for all the suggestions. We haven’t been near a flock recently or quarantining new birds. Unfortunately the chicken seems to be getting worse (isn’t eating but I have successfully got her to drink a little) and we might end up putting it down. We have taken her out of the box nad at the moment she is just sort of collapsed on the grass in the shade. We will have to keep an eye on the other one too but it actually seems much better now so hopefully it will stay that way. I am praying it isnt Marek‘s and doesnt spread to the other three but the best I can do is hope. It is encouraging that none of yours got it and I am hoping it stays the same way for you. Thank you again for all the suggestions and useful info.

Goodluck!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry to hear about Buttons. It's hard to know what happened with her, but from your description of symptoms and the photo, I would suspect she was suffering from a reproductive disorder. Pertitonitis, cancer, tumors, Salpingitis, internal laying, etc. are sadly common in laying hens. Fatty Liver Syndrome is something else that hens can suffer from and it may also accompany reproductive issues. Unless you send the body to your state lab or perform an informal necropsy yourself, it's speculation on our part.

Now, the other hen that you are concerned about - puffed up, bum low - how hot is it where you are? What do you feed including treats? Has this hen been laying eggs (all normal hard shelled eggs)?
Look her over for lice/mites, check to make sure her crop is empty in the morning before she eats/drinks.
Get a good look at her poop and if possible, collect some samples and have your vet check for worms.

 

[Fourchicken07855]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your precious chickens. That's always so hard. I just want to add that I have an 11-week old pullet who has similar symptoms, except that she also had stinky, mucousy diarrhea. She also was really thin and dehydrated. But she was vaccinated for Marek's so I'm pretty sure it wasn't that. Going to http://www.poultrydvm.com/views/symptoms.php I narrowed it down to either roundworms or
Avian Spirochetosis

See more at: http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/avian-spirochetosis

I treated her for the roundworms and only saw a mild improvement. But I've been treating her with Denagard for a little over a day for the Spirochetosis and am definitely seeing improvement. The diarrhea is gone and she's regaining her balance, little by little. The key has been to keep her hydrated and fed. That has meant that I've had to separate her from her sisters for a couple of hours at a time and often forcing her to drink water with a syringe (just a few drops at a time and then she perks up and starts drinking on her own). Once she starts drinking, then she starts eating like a trooper.
I can't say that we're out of the woods yet, as it really seems like a 3 steps forward 2 steps back sort of thing. But she does really seem to be improving. Tonight she was able to stay on the perch for a minute or two with me only spotting her and she's plumped up a little. I think that's progress, but then who knows what I'll find tomorrow when I go down to their cage.

Anyway, once again, I'm so sorry for the loss of your chickens.

So happy to hear your chicken survived

 

[lynx04]

So happy to hear your chicken survived

Thank you. I finally took her to the vet who gave her amoxicillin. That has really made a big difference. She still falls over, but she is able to stay upright for dozens of minutes at a time and walk for several dozens of steps and I can see her getting stronger. The vet said that there was something blocking her from getting nutrition and I think she got it right with the bacteria diagnosis. In the meantime, my chick's completely eating and drinking on her own, although, I have to check her often to make sure she hasn't fallen over. Otherwise, she can't get to the food and water and then we're back to square one.
But she spends the entire day in the run with her sisters (who are so sweet about huddling around her when she falls over) and when I am vigilant about watching her, she really makes leaps and bounds progress. As long as I get her up right away when she falls over, she gets stronger. But if she lays there for a long time, then that's when I see regression.

It's been a whole lot of work and maybe I'm crazy for putting so much time and effort into it, but I said from the getgo that if she wasn't giving up, then neither would I. She's definitely NOT giving up. I'm hoping that we're only a few days away from her being able to join her sisters in the coop all the time. Fingers crossed.

 

[lynx04]

Thank you. I finally took her to the vet who gave her amoxicillin. That has really made a big difference. She still falls over, but she is able to stay upright for dozens of minutes at a time and walk for several dozens of steps and I can see her getting stronger. The vet said that there was something blocking her from getting nutrition and I think she got it right with the bacteria diagnosis. In the meantime, my chick's completely eating and drinking on her own, although, I have to check her often to make sure she hasn't fallen over. Otherwise, she can't get to the food and water and then we're back to square one.
But she spends the entire day in the run with her sisters (who are so sweet about huddling around her when she falls over) and when I am vigilant about watching her, she really makes leaps and bounds progress. As long as I get her up right away when she falls over, she gets stronger. But if she lays there for a long time, then that's when I see regression.

It's been a whole lot of work and maybe I'm crazy for putting so much time and effort into it, but I said from the getgo that if she wasn't giving up, then neither would I. She's definitely NOT giving up. I'm hoping that we're only a few days away from her being able to join her sisters in the coop all the time. Fingers crossed.

I just wanted to update (in case anyone has a similar issue). My little chicken is almost 100%. She stays with her flockmates all day. The only thing is that she can't yet jump up to the roosts on her own. There is a little ladder (of sorts) that she uses to get up to the second roost, but she doesn't go any higher than that (there are three levels). Her sisters all go to the top, so being as the nights are getting cold, I go out and put her up with them. I had to have surgery a few weeks ago that put me out of pocket from babying her too much, which sort of forced her to make due. I think if I start working with her again, we'll be able to get her top-notch. None of her flockmates are laying eggs yet, so I'm not too concerned that she hasn't shown an interest in the nesting boxes. But little by little I'm very optimistic for a full recovery.

At this point, she is in no danger of dying, however. She's perfectly healthy, but I think she just lacks the confidence to do the things that she would have been doing if she hadn't gotten sick.