drunk chicken

[fraser1973]

I have two four week old buff orpingtons. One is doing great, running around, very active. The other began having difficulty walking one week ago. She has a very unsteady gait, almost looks like she's had a little too much wine. She is eating normally, drinking normally. She visibly does not like to walk as it appears difficult for her to do so. She is a bit larger than the other and I initially thought that she was just too heavy for her little legs. I'm feeding her a non medicated starter crumble and vitamins in her water. She has been vaccinated for mareks. Her poop is a bit dark on the outside, but is green on the inside. It breaks my heart as the two chicks are really attatched to one another, sleep together, and until one week ago ran around together. Any ideas on what this could be or what i could do are greatly appreciated. Also, if she ends up dying at what point is it too late to add another chick/s.
thanks
chris

 

[mk4lh]

I'm sorry I don't have any answers about you're ill chicken. But you may want to get a couple more, just in case, especially since you need to quarintine the new ones for a bit before adding them.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I don't know the answer either, but I'm responding to give your post a "bump" up to the top of the list. Do chickens get ear infections? That can cause balance issues in other animals.

 

[DixieChickMom]

I don't know what your chicken has but I had the same problem when my 7 chicks were 4 weeks. One looked absolutely "drunk" and couldn't walk right. She was also all puffed up looking. I had others that were lethargic and not moving much. I had two chicks die. I broke down and took them to the vet and he thought they had a bacterial infection. He gave me an antibiotic called "Orbax". It says it's for cats and dogs but I gave it to all of them with a syringe down their throat in a small dosage (.05) according to their weight. Now all are doing wonderful. If you have a vet in the area that sees chickens, you might want to give it a try. Good luck to you and your chicks!

 

[Stoney22]

Is it possible it could be botulism