Chicken with possible vitamin Deficiency

[RuralChick83]

Hello! I have a chicken who couldn't move her legs back in October. I had thought egg bound, Marek's disease, but it is 2 months later and she is still alive. I was told it could've been a vitamin deficiency and to give her vitamin e and b. I have been and she has gotten better. Before she could only army crawl with her wings, then she slowly started pushing herself up. Now, she can shuffle around on her legs, but her feet are still not moving yet. Is this just going to be a very slow healing process? Any other medicine options? I have attached 2 of the threads I was on to get info as well as the pictures of her progress. If you have any ideas or would like more pics, please let me know.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-does-mareks-present-in-an-older-2-years-bird.1601321/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-treat-botulism.582306/

 

[azygous]

Any progress forward is good. How much B and which Bs are you giving? How much E are you giving and how often?

Certainly keep it up since you are seeing progress. But according to how much and how often you've been giving the vitamins, you may want to increase the dosage.

 

[RuralChick83]

I usually crush a pill of vitamin B complex in her water and squeeze a vitamin e pill (its a gel pill) in there too. Its usually every day to every other day and I know she will spill about half of it from shuffling around. Should I double it?

 

[azygous]

I usually crush a pill of vitamin B complex in her water and squeeze a vitamin e pill (its a gel pill) in there too. Its usually every day to every other day and I know she will spill about half of it from shuffling around. Should I double it?

If your child was sick and the doctor gave you medicine to give her, would you put it in soup that she might only eat half of or would you put it into her mouth to be sure she gets it all?

Pills are so easy and simple to simply push into a chicken's beak, why not just do that and be sure they get the complete dose?

Pry the beak open and stick the pill in. Close the beak. Done!

 

[RuralChick83]

If your child was sick and the doctor gave you medicine to give her, would you put it in soup that she might only eat half of or would you put it into her mouth to be sure she gets it all?

Pills are so easy and simple to simply push into a chicken's beak, why not just do that and be sure they get the complete dose?

Pry the beak open and stick the pill in. Close the beak. Done!

I'll try it, but my chickens aren't as responsive as my kid. They are fine with me holding them, but I haven't had success putting stuff in their mouth. If I hide it amongst some scrambled egg, she might eat it on her own. I'll see what works and hope she'll improve even more.

 

[azygous]

Chickens will not cooperate by opening their beak. You need to pry it open. It can be a challenge, but once you get a fingernail in the crack, you can then push the upper and lower beak apart and then shove the pill inside. Tell yourself you are a large strong human and they are a four pound chicken.

 

[Debbie292d]

I'll try it, but my chickens aren't as responsive as my kid. They are fine with me holding them, but I haven't had success putting stuff in their mouth. If I hide it amongst some scrambled egg, she might eat it on her own. I'll see what works and hope she'll improve even more.

Just do it like @azygous suggested. This is WAY easier than trying to get my dog to take a pill, trust me!

 

[RuralChick83]

Started giving her pills by mouth on Wednesday. First day was easy. Next day, she was standing upright (yay!), but less willing to take pills because she was feeling better. Still can get them in her, she just likes it less. By this weekend she was already starting to walk, but a little uneasy. Still giving her the pills every morning. Do I continue until she walks normally or a little beyond that? Are there are other vitamins I should add? She has been losing a bit more feathers than usual, but that might be the stress of me giving her the pills. She is also very thin compared to my other chickens. She eats plenty, but should I add more than just her feed? She mainly gets feed. I do give her a little scrambled egg after I give her her pills as a treat for putting up with it. I just know she needs to gain a lot more weight before I attempt to reintroduce her to the flock. Also, our weather is starting to get colder and she has been used to our 60 degree basement for almost 2 months now.

 

[Clucktown]

How is your hen?