chicken with the "shakes"?

[lovethepeep]

I have a three week old hen that is shaking... especially as she stands up. I put them in thier little "playpen" this morning to let them get some sun and grass, and clean out the brooder, and noticed her behavior right away. any ideas? VERY new to chickens here.
thanks.

 

[Chicabee19]

first thing to do is isolate the hen. don't want to spread whatever she's got.

hopefully others will post some advice...

good luck.

 

[PeeperKeeper]

After isolating... Keep her under warming light... Force feed some fluid, water, gatorade? Young chicks do dehydrate quickly. Got baby vitamins? Check poop or lack of. Do you have any antibiotics on hand?

 

[LilCobra]

I agree. First you need to separate that particular chicken. Temperature OK? Possible nutritional deficiency? I would suggest calling your State Veterinarian. I got excellent advice from the one here. Below is a link that someone posted to help find your State Vet. Good luck!

http://agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/AnimalHealth/StateVets.htm

 

[lovethepeep]

she does have a crooked toe... I'm wondering if it's bothering her... it's bent way backward. and maybe without that toe, she can't stand without shaking??
I do have antibiotics, and as soon as I can figure up the dosage... I will get that in her water. We also have vitamins, should I try that first? She is now seperated, and CHIRPING to be back with her sisters! I will lay down some paper towels to see what is going on with the poop

.

 

[lovethepeep]

her poop is a tad runny looking... and she is definitely shaking, and when she walks she stumbles... but she doesn't act lethargic or anything like that... and is eating and drinking fine.

 

[MilkMaid]

I recently had some ducklings that were trembling and stumbling around, etc and would die several days to weeks later. It turned out to be a b vitamin deficiency. I gave them a big dose of fortified b vitamins (injectable that I use for my goats) in their water, and they were back to normal by morning. Not all of the ducklings showed symptoms and not all at once. I would be sure to use a b vit that is fortified with niacin and thiamine as well.

 

[chickbea]

Have they been housed together since they were first hatched? If that is the case, I doubt she has anything contagious that the others haven't already been exposed to, although isolating a sick bird is always a good idea.
Check out http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/index.cgi - it has tons of info on chicken illnesses of all kinds and treatments.
Crooked toes can be splinted and straightened, but it sounds like that is the least of your problems now. If the other issue gets fixed, do a search on BYC for "crooked toes", and you'll see how to make a splint.
Good luck - it's hard to see one of your babies get sick...

 

[lovethepeep]

it's so sad to see her chirping for her buddies!!!! I got seven together from mypetchicken, then got one from a local last sunday. the new one is just fine... so I don't think it's that. hmmmmm...

 

[lovethepeep]

I'll go try and force her to take her vitamins