Extreme Brooding or Bigger Problem

[amcoffeeman]

New to chicken raising, and a little confused about what is happening with one of our hens.

We have 5 Buff Orpington hens that are about 6 months old. We noticed that one of our girls started what looks like brooding about 2 weeks ago. She wouldn't come out of the nesting box in the morning and had to be moved out of the box to come eat. She was moving around fine until about 3 days ago. Now she won't even hardly stand up. Her neck feathers stay ruffled all the time and her right foot toes stay really close together.

We have tried moving her to different locations around the run to see if she would move. She got down off a bale of straw we had her on and she will shuffle herself around, but will not stand or walk for anything.
I read about the vitamin B deficiency and we have had her on that for the last couple of days. We have now removed her from the rest of the girls in case she has something contagious.

Are we too worried about this? Is this what a really broody Buff acts like? Thanks for any help!!

 

[Judy]

No, sorry, it does ot sound like broodiness. She should have no trouble walking (well, maybe a few moments of stiffness) when taken out of the nest and stood on her feet. She should go about normal chicken business for a few minutes, including a huge poop. then return to her nest. There is no reason being broody should cause toes to curl. She might have had a leg or hip injury, or a stroke, or there could be an infectious or degenerative process in, say, a hip -- there are many possibilities..

 

[amcoffeeman]

Thanks for the reply. Interesting you mention the poop. We have noticed that with her over this last week. She has done that a few times over the last week, huge poop, but coloring looks alright.
When we pick her up and try to get her to perch on my hand, I can feel the pressure she makes to balance herself, but she won't stand completely.

 

[amcoffeeman]

Here are a couple of pics. We have separated her from the rest. She doesn't always look like this, but we first noticed her right foot. The wing is an occasional thing. Any other suggestions would be helpful. Would hate to have to put her down.

 

[KayTee]

The huge poo is normal - if she is staying in the nest then she instinctively tries not to soil it, so she will retain her poo for as long as possible, until she leaves the nest.

However I agree with Judy - she's not broody. If she was, she would act normally when you took her off the nest (after a couple of minutes of stiffness). It is good that you are giving her vitamin B, and you should continue with that to see if it helps her. It could be a simple case of vitamin deficiency.

Having said that, another possibility that you should unfortunately consider is Marek's disease, which can cause paralysis, wing drooping etc. Do you know if she was vaccinated as a chick? (It is not a complete preventative, but it can help a bird to survive the disease).

If you would like to know more about Marek's (and I'm not saying that your bird has it, but forewarned is forearmed) the best source of information is here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

Nambroth's thread is clearly written, logical, and easy to understand - I've never found a more comprehensive and understandable article on the disease anywhere online.

 

[Suzie]

As she is "fluffed up" I would certainly suspect lice/mites or cocci aside from the other suggestions...not all chickens affected by these problems will show the same symptoms...it is sadly a process of elimination...it would be a good idea to examine her during the evening when she is resting in the coop...look closely for signs of any bugs crawling on her...paying particular attention to under her wing area and around her vent..

It may be beneficial to give her some tuna fish and scrambled eggs to boost her..also maybe give her "Rooster Booster"...Vitamin B and E are great for leg problems ...

Hope you resolve this soon..she is beautiful!

 

[amcoffeeman]

Thanks for the suggestions about the lice/mites. Will do that this evening. Have had her on rooster booster in her water for 2 days although I don't think she is drinking enough to make any difference. We have been giving her Vit B through a dosing syringe (1cc daily). At times she looks like she has more energy, but she still will not get up on her feet, moving around by scooting.

 

[amcoffeeman]

Still a mystery what she had, but finally had to put her down. Nursed her for about 12 days with no improvement. Could not see any mites, lice or any other kind of bug. She would not lay and she still could not walk and would not stand on her right leg. She developed a strange thing with her right wing where it would seemingly extend on its' own, then droop.

The problem sometimes with research is it yields a lot of "might be" and we treated her for several of them. Sad to lose her, but thanks to everyone for your help

 

[KayTee]

I'm sorr for your loss, but if she was getting worse then letting her go was the right thing to do. Did you consider sending her for necropsy? It may seem harsh to do so, but with an unexplained death it could help prevent future problems in your flock.