Chicken struggling with balance

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry for your loss

 

[lynx04]

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.

 

[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.