falling over chicken

[abooot99]

Please someone help me.

I just posted about a chicken that is falling over and is so weak she is sitting on her hocks? She's skin and bones but has been eating and drinking in the house.

I originally posted that just she was affected but I just went out to clean the coop to find my favorite silkie is now presenting with the same ataxia and incoordination. They both look like they are drunk and can't stand without falling over. The silkie is doing the exact same thing today with just standing with the flock but is lethargic.

I seriously need some help. What causes this stumbling? What can I give them. What if the whole flock ends like this?

Somebody has had to experience this before. Anyone????????

 

[Emzyyy]

I'm not so good at these things. Try feeding them some scrambled eggs a little watered down gatorade or sugar water. Have you wormed them recently?

 

[LovinMyPeeps]

First, Quaruntine each bird somewhere warm and with low stimulation a decent sized box with an old towel works. I had this happen a few weeks ago and my bantam roo is bouncing back. List these things bird sex age and breed. List onset of symptoms. Housing arrangement. What type of feed? How often do you clean the feeders/waterers? First is there a chance feed they got into is moldy or wet? Have they had treats? Is there access to a compost bin. You will need vitamins like Poly-vi-sol WITHOUT iron and a good b-complex liquid form if you can find it. Also Vitamin E capsules are great for help with neurological issues. What does their poop look like? Don't be afraid to be graphic, we need a good idea of what you are seeing. Also Probiotics like yogurt will be important for their digestion. Give us more info about the birds and hopefully Glenda, ThreeHorses or one of the other senior board experts will chime in.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

1st check water supplies, they may be drinking algae water. The red algae is very bad for them & will make them lethargic. Next check for ANYTHING they can eat that they aren't suppose to. After that, worm them, then......a vet.

 

[abooot99]

i have never wormed them

I just bought wazine. Should I just worm them and see how they do????

Is it just a one time deal with the med in the water for one day?

 

[abooot99]

I clean their heated dog water bowl every day. They get fresh water daily. They are kept penned. They don't have access to anything they shouldn't eat.

 

[abooot99]

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I have the silkie mix in the house already. She is 9 months old female. She has been losing weight for over a month now. I brought her in the house on Monday. I feed flock raiser pellets with calcium/grit available at all times. Now that I think of it, I did put a suet feeder in the pen recently and it fell off of the rock I placed it on and it was sitting on the pen floor in the mud. Crap- would that cause an issue? I always bring them out a vegi like spaghetti squash or cantalope for them to peck at. I give them sunflower seeds and scratch pretty routinely.

I feel really dumb right now. Am I killing my birds or what?

 

[LovinMyPeeps]

You're not dumb, it's a learning curve. Make sure that you never leave the "treats" in there too long. If they've finished with it within a 1/2 hour get it out of there. Make sure that they cannot get to compost of any sort. Food that rots or wet feed can cause botulism which ends in neurological effects, paralysis of the legs, limber neck and then death. I've managed to save 2 with neuro sickness so far. I lost one that ended in extremely convulsive seizures.

 

[abooot99]

oh. I have just tossed things in the pen/coop and left them. Maybe they ate something bad from that. Although- I live in NH and right now- its freaking cold out so anything I leave probably freezes within a few hours.

In the coop is another issue though since I have a coop heater that keeps the temps above freezing and when I close the coop up- it gets into the 40's- is that bad?

Maybe I am breeding organisms that are making them sick with the warmth??

 

[ashleymerka]

Try looking at books to figure out diseases with those symptoms or try giving them dark greens like spinach or more protein.I hope it helps!
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