Help! Chicken very under weight & having trouble balancing

[JennyLeeFL]

About 6 weeks ago, one of our Rhode Island Reds went missing for 4 days and miraculously showed up on our porch wounded. She had open wounds near and around her tail, which we nursed and gave her antibiotic injections. Her exterior wounds healed nicely. She now has new feathers coming in. She has not layed any eggs since she was wounded. She had lost some weight, but eating and drinking. The last few days she has become lethargic, loses her balance, has one eye that she has been keeping closed and only opens ocassionaly. I checked her for mites the other day and felt that she was extremely thin, with bones visable and no breast or other muscle can be felt. We didn't think she would make it through the night however she is a fighter. She is still eating and drinking. We are not sure what else to do. We don't want her to suffer either. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[micstrachan]

I think the first and most important thing would be to provide heat. If she is very weak, she probably cannot regulate her own temperature very well. Do you have nutridrench or other poultry vitamins and electrolytes you can provide? If she were mine, I would find the courage to learn to tube feed her. My understanding is that you start with warmed fluids before progressing to feed.

 

[drumstick diva]

Actually I would take her to a vet. She may have some type of bacterial infection from whatever injured her. Predators don't brush their teeth, so I'm sure they carry all sorts of bad germs.

 

[rebrascora]

Unfortunately it sounds like she may be having an outbreak of Marek's disease. They are often triggered by stress, so the predator attack may have precipitated it. Muscle wastage, loss of balance and being unable to keep one eye open are telling symptoms.
How old is she and how long have you had her? Where did you get her from and do you know if she was vaccinated for Marek's?

The best that you can do for Marek's birds is offer supportive care or cull. A good poultry vitamin will help to support her immune system and a probiotic or fermented feed to support her digestive tract. You might want to offer her a little animal protein.... little slivers of raw liver can be good. If she is eating and drinking on her own, then I would not tube feed and if it is Marek's, any stress will aggravate her symptoms, so keeping her as happy and as unflustered as possible is important. Unfortunately the disease can often prove fatal but I have had some make some pretty miraculous recoveries with it. The fact that she has returned from a predator attack and is still eating are all positive signs that she is a fighter. When they lose interest in food, that is when I draw the line with Marek's birds and euthanize because they go down hill very quickly after that but if they are still showing an interest in food then there is hope. It should be noted that if this is Marek's she will always have the disease and be prone to further outbreaks if she survives this one and will be actively shedding the virus that causes it whilst she is symptomatic. It is a Herpes virus which, like cold sores in humans, is infectious during an outbreak but has dormant phases where it is not infectious. If it is Marek's, it is likely that other members of your flock are also infected and carrying it in the dormant phase (if you are not seeing any other birds with odd symptoms).

 

[rebrascora]

PS. A chicken sling may be beneficial for her to keep her supported in an upright position if she is struggling with balance. A simple one can be made with everyday items like in the photo below....

It needs to be adjusted so that their feet can reach the bottom so that they don't panic but able to support their weight. Empty plastic yoghurt pots can be clipped to the front to provide food and water within her reach and if necessary a third hole cut below her vent to allow poop to drop clear and keep her from becoming soiled.

I hope she is able to pull through. I personally would not administer an oral antibiotic unless you are certain there is an infection because if it is Marek's, it may just upset her gut enough to finish her off.

 

[snow5164]

You say she’s eating ? Try scrambling an egg for her, I’d add some yogurt to it just to give her a boost . I’m so sorry she is suffering , she’s had a rough time .

 

[JennyLeeFL]

Thank you for all the information. I'll do some more research on Marek's. We do have nutridrench but must put it in a syringe to feed to her. Our girls all seem to dislike and not water with nutridrench in it.

 

[JennyLeeFL]

You say she’s eating ? Try scrambling an egg for her, I’d add some yogurt to it just to give her a boost . I’m so sorry she is suffering , she’s had a rough time .

I have plain coconut yogurt. Do you know if that would be an ok substitute for dairy yogurt for this purpose?