Elderly Hen Splayed Legs/Weakness

[Razzmatazz1]

I have a very elderly hen named Tenebris- she is minimum 7 years old, but I believe she is closer to 8 or 9. She was hatched in my care and is 50% silkie, 25% black australorp, and 25% copper maran. Tenebris has been healthy her entire life except for just recently when she very abruptly developed what I would normally think is symptoms of Marek's Disease- she is sitting down with her front legs splayed in front of her, she struggles to balance and cannot walk or sit herself up normally (she will fall to one side or another without her wing pushing her back up).

I treated Ten for a severe mite infection the moment I realized she was ill hoping that cleaning her up from them would support her recovery, but she has not improved despite that. She is disinclined towards food, but will drink water when prompted- we have been mixing her water with an electrolyte mixture and some mash to help her get some nutrients in her.

Tenebris has been ill since Friday August 4th, nearly a week now. Despite being in a safely isolated location, supported by towels so that she is not falling over awkwardly, and with regular food and water, she has not improved at all- she also has not worsened.

I have checked her for internal laying (as this is a problem I have had with several older hens), but she is not swollen in her abdomen or vent area, which also covers being egg bound. I have also checked her for sour crop or other crop related issues, but she isn't impacted. If anything, she's just empty because she hasn't been able to eat. Her poops are normal if a touch runny from lack of substance, and her vent is clear (ie. no flystrike).

Despite this, Tenebris is fairly alert- she holds her head normally, pecked me when I tried to pet her (she is very wild because I did not hand raise her), and struggled/made upset/offended noises when I flipped her over to check her vent today. She just can't walk or sit up.

Can anyone think of any other causes other than Marek's Disease for this? I know she was never vaccinated for it since she hatched with me, and that she is half silkie which is a very prone breed. However, I have never seen Marek's affect a hen this late in age, and from what I understand that is incredibly rare. However, I am at a loss for what I can do for her other than euthanasia, and I don't want her to suffer long term.

I did have two chickens when Ten was very young who had Marek's Disease. The first never recovered fully, he was paralyzed for 2 weeks (a Polish), and managed to come back and regain partial function in his body, but he had splayed legs, walked at a waddle, and his wings drooped. The second made a full recovery (a frizzle cochin), and she went on to lay her first egg at 1 year of age and ultimately lived until 5 or 6. Tenebris has clearly been exposed because of this, but has never displayed symptoms before. I believe that we must have had a fairly non virulent version of the virus because of this, especially since our two full-blooded silkies never grew ill either. The two who did have Marek's disease actually were vaccinated, none of my unvaccinated self hatched chickens have contracted it, those two were just really unlucky.

I am truly at a loss, and would appreciate some advice if anyone has it! I am considering trying to make her one of those chicken slings- I taught the Polish to walk again by carrying him to lift the weight off his legs while his legs regained the muscle tone, but I do not think that's plausible with Tenebris because she is so elderly.
Advice is much appreciated, thank you all so much!

 

[Razzmatazz1]

This is Tenebris as reference- you can't see her legs in the image, but they are straight out in front of her traditional marek's paralysis style. She can move them a bit, just can't keep them underneath her (as in, she can grab your hand with her feet, she shifts around a lot using them just can't pull them back)

 

[Razzmatazz1]

Here is an additional photo... Still no improvement. She's very alert and I brought her outside for a visit to the other hens from a distance and she's making lots of noise to talk to them and keeps trying to stand up and walk but just can't get her legs to work. Could really use help!

 

[Mason Farm and Ranch]

I have a very elderly hen named Tenebris- she is minimum 7 years old, but I believe she is closer to 8 or 9. She was hatched in my care and is 50% silkie, 25% black australorp, and 25% copper maran. Tenebris has been healthy her entire life except for just recently when she very abruptly developed what I would normally think is symptoms of Marek's Disease- she is sitting down with her front legs splayed in front of her, she struggles to balance and cannot walk or sit herself up normally (she will fall to one side or another without her wing pushing her back up).

I treated Ten for a severe mite infection the moment I realized she was ill hoping that cleaning her up from them would support her recovery, but she has not improved despite that. She is disinclined towards food, but will drink water when prompted- we have been mixing her water with an electrolyte mixture and some mash to help her get some nutrients in her.

Tenebris has been ill since Friday August 4th, nearly a week now. Despite being in a safely isolated location, supported by towels so that she is not falling over awkwardly, and with regular food and water, she has not improved at all- she also has not worsened.

I have checked her for internal laying (as this is a problem I have had with several older hens), but she is not swollen in her abdomen or vent area, which also covers being egg bound. I have also checked her for sour crop or other crop related issues, but she isn't impacted. If anything, she's just empty because she hasn't been able to eat. Her poops are normal if a touch runny from lack of substance, and her vent is clear (ie. no flystrike).

Despite this, Tenebris is fairly alert- she holds her head normally, pecked me when I tried to pet her (she is very wild because I did not hand raise her), and struggled/made upset/offended noises when I flipped her over to check her vent today. She just can't walk or sit up.

Can anyone think of any other causes other than Marek's Disease for this? I know she was never vaccinated for it since she hatched with me, and that she is half silkie which is a very prone breed. However, I have never seen Marek's affect a hen this late in age, and from what I understand that is incredibly rare. However, I am at a loss for what I can do for her other than euthanasia, and I don't want her to suffer long term.

I did have two chickens when Ten was very young who had Marek's Disease. The first never recovered fully, he was paralyzed for 2 weeks (a Polish), and managed to come back and regain partial function in his body, but he had splayed legs, walked at a waddle, and his wings drooped. The second made a full recovery (a frizzle cochin), and she went on to lay her first egg at 1 year of age and ultimately lived until 5 or 6. Tenebris has clearly been exposed because of this, but has never displayed symptoms before. I believe that we must have had a fairly non virulent version of the virus because of this, especially since our two full-blooded silkies never grew ill either. The two who did have Marek's disease actually were vaccinated, none of my unvaccinated self hatched chickens have contracted it, those two were just really unlucky.

I am truly at a loss, and would appreciate some advice if anyone has it! I am considering trying to make her one of those chicken slings- I taught the Polish to walk again by carrying him to lift the weight off his legs while his legs regained the muscle tone, but I do not think that's plausible with Tenebris because she is so elderly.
Advice is much appreciated, thank you all so much!

My attention is drawn to the severe mite infection. Nutritional deficiencies can cause Marek's like symptoms. Specifically leg paralysis.

I'm leaning towards her needing vitamin and mineral supplements. I've seen a lot of birds bounce back after a few days on here.