Chicken unable to stand.

Maddiejayne

Chirping
Oct 26, 2017
41
35
82
My 3 year old hen is unable to stand or walk. She has zero balance and rolls over if left with no support on the ground. Her legs still feel firm and she can curl her toes. If I’m balancing her, she can perch on my arm. There’s no sign of injury. Her vent is clear and she is otherwise healthy. I felt her abdomen for any egg bound issues, she’s able to poop fine and her appetite is still normal. This has happened in the past with other birds of mine, each time with a large time gap between incidents and I was unable to save them (they eventually stopped eating). I would appreciate any and all advice! I love her and she’s my original chicken and i certainly don’t want to lose her. Thank you.
 
My 3 year old hen is unable to stand or walk. She has zero balance and rolls over if left with no support on the ground. Her legs still feel firm and she can curl her toes. If I’m balancing her, she can perch on my arm. There’s no sign of injury. Her vent is clear and she is otherwise healthy. I felt her abdomen for any egg bound issues, she’s able to poop fine and her appetite is still normal. This has happened in the past with other birds of mine, each time with a large time gap between incidents and I was unable to save them (they eventually stopped eating). I would appreciate any and all advice! I love her and she’s my original chicken and i certainly don’t want to lose her. Thank you.
Sorry to hear that your hen is not doing well.

Any chance she ate something moldy or rotten?

Since you have seen this in the past with other birds, you may be dealing with Marek's disease, but would be hard to know unless testing/necropsy is performed if you lose her.

You can try offering her supportive care/vitamin therapy to see if there's improvement. 1/2 tablet B-Complex once a day.

Does she still lay eggs at all? It's possible her difficulties may be due to reproductive issues, which can be common in laying hens. Unfortunately, there's no treatment for these conditions either.

Work on keeping her hydrated, then see if she will eat. Check to make sure her crop is emptying overnight.
 

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