chicken with problems walking x 2-3 months

[Weaverchick]

Hello

We have a 3 year old black australorp named Thankful who has been having problems walking for about 2-3 months. Below I will attempt to attach photos/videos. Here is what my husband and I can see:

Pronounced keel bone; she is eating and will hobble over to snacks but is probably losing weight

Feet look fine, no wounds

Legs/feet not paralyzed, she will grasp our fingers, and push back with her feet. When we try to stand her up she will just sink back down

Feathers look shiny and clean, tail feathers up some times, sometimes not.

She moves around the run somewhat during the day, goes into the coop at night, but does not perch like she used to.

She is a sweet bird and we love her...she is lowest on the peeking order, but the other hens are leaving her alone, just an occasional peck once and awhile.

Don't know what is wrong with her, guessing it might be an injury like a broken leg or something, or possibly a vitamin deficiency. We are backyard chicken keepers for about 3 years now too...she is one of the originals. We got her from Meyers Hatchery so we are thinking she was vaccinated.

Any tips/advice/ideas? All appreciated....Thanks!

 

[SJchickens]

do you know if she is vaccinated for Mareks? Always the first thought when leg problems are brought up.

 

[Weaverchick]

do not know...she was part of a brood from Meyers Hatchery...I can call them and find out

 

[SJchickens]

do not know...she was part of a brood from Meyers Hatchery...I can call them and find out

if I recall correctly, the hatchery does not vaccinate them unless you pay extra to have them specifically do so, so your bird is probably unvaccinated.

How do her droppings look?

If it is Marek's, there is no real cure for it. Recovery is low but not unheard of. Some people claim to cure with vitamins. Refer to https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq if you haven't already.

 

[Weaverchick]

if it is Marek's ... could it linger for 2-3 months? Wondering if it could be something as simple as a vitamin B deficiency....and if so wondering how I could get vitamins for chickens and how to give it to her...

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

If she has no swelling or heat at her foot joints or hocks, she may have had a stroke. I have had a couple of hens with stroke in my flock over the years...it ranged from a hanging wing, loosing their voice and one lost the use of her legs. (she had some strength to almost stand if I supported and stood her up, but she herself couldn't stand up or walk at all). So if she had a stoke she may be incredibly weak. You mentioned her keel being very prominent...of course this could be from worms or some other issue, however all my birds that have had a stroke over the years also lost incredible amounts of weight. Something happens after a stroke and they all withered away. Of course worms will thin them way down as will any other disease that might keep them from eating.

You might try some vitamins on her. They may do wonders for her strength. I use these on all weak and sick birds and even my stroke patients responded well. Weak birds need extra B and E. If you have any Poly Vi Sol (without the iron) or some Nutri Drench, I would get her on either of these on a daily basis for some time. They will no doubt fill the gaps in her eating habits especially if she is thin, she may not be absorbing vitamins in a proper way.

Poly Vi Sol: 6 drops 2 or 3 times a day into the mouth
Nutri Drench: 1ml per 3 pounds of body weight once or twice a day.

Good luck with your bird. Aww...what a sweet heart she is. All my hens with stroke were Aussies too.

Keep us posted!

 

[SJchickens]

Yes, it can linger for long periods of time. Stroke is another possibility.

For your next course of action I would suggest vitamins. The vitamins suggested by TwoCrows have both worked wonders for me, especially Poultry Nutridrench.

You can get Nutridrench at a local farm store and Poly Vi Sol at the grocery or pharmacy.

 

[Weaverchick]

poop looks like everyone else's poop...

 

[SJchickens]

That's good. It may be a stroke after all. Try the vitamins and give her some extra care and hopefully she'll improve~

 

[Weaverchick]

Just a quick note to let you know that she is doing better, and to thank you for taking the time to help me and my husband figure this out. Thankful is definitely a little perkier, almost gets up and walks--so far she has been getting vitamins for 2 days. Today I saw her stand just briefly on her own to munch on some beet greens, but sunk back down on her heels to munch. We are optimistic.

We have given the whole flock Nutri Drench so everybody is happy However, our local feed store (20 miles away) only carries the 4 oz size. We would like to buy a gallon, but unfortunately Amazon does not sell in the gallon size...its labeled as a gallon, and priced as a gallon, but they ship a 4 oz size...several people have written reviews about that.

Wondering where do you buy your Nutri Drench, and how do you administer to an individual chicken when they are part of a flock...do you syringe feed them?