HELP!!! My OEG is down and can't stand!!!

[Pampered Chicken]

Barred OEG

3-4 Weeks old

On shavings in a heated coop with 12 other chicks

Recently treaded for Cocci

Symptoms are that he can’t seem to stand.
Eyes Clear
Nose Clear
No chest noise

He will eat and drink if I put him up to the food.

He was on his back when I found him. If I turn him over sometimes one foot goes forward and the other goes back. He can’t seem to get his feet under him. He is now inside under a heat lamp on a towel.

I have given him vitamins.

I have tetracycline and Talan 50 available.

Any idea what it might be? He may have a head twitch it’s hard to tell and may be a little week at lifting his head.

Any help would be great.

 

[carrlr]

Make sure to separate from the other chicks as soon as you can. How long has he been like this? Did you just get him or have you had for awhile? What are you feeding them?

 

[Pampered Chicken]

I hatched him from eggs from another Bycer. He is seperated now. He's eating flock raiser.

 

[a2ms4chickens]

I just had a 4 month chick do the same thing about 3 weeks ago.

She was walking on her hocks and was very lethargic when I found her. She got worse to where I thought she was paralyzed. She was able to lift her head when she saw the food and water, but otherwise, would sleep with her head and neck down.

I researched Marek's disease and the paralysis and one leg in front of the other matched, but she showed no signs of respiratory problems. (Marek's is not common in AZ, thank goodness).

I also looked into a vitamin B deficiency and started giving her vitamin B complex to help with any neurological problems. I'm not sure it helped with the paralysis, but it may have relieved some of the nerve pain. She would squawk when I would pick her up to change her bedding, touch her wings or legs.

I also found that too much protein can cause paralysis. I was putting dog food in the older bird's feed for the extra protein, but the chicks would also eat it. So, she only got starter/grower feed.

I did notice that she had lice, so she and all of my flock, pens, bedding, etc, were dusted twice. I will dust again this weekend.

I gave her vitamin water for the first week, then changed to ACV water which helped her runny poo. She did develop sneezing and congestion last week, so I gave her antibiotics in her water for the past week.

She started to recover maybe 1 1/2 weeks ago. She is able to walk again, still a little unsteady, so I would take her out to the chicken pen while we fed and watered, to let her socialize and practice walking. My DS put her in the chicken pen yesterday and by last night, she was walking and hanging with her buddies.

I believe it was the lice that was on her and she was just very weak.

I hope you can use the above to rule out what your chick may have.

Good luck!

Angie

 

[carrlr]

Hmmm...I don't like to mention Marek's disease because it has a tendency to freak folks out. If your chickes are 3-4 weeks I think they are a little young to be showing signs of that, but I could be wrong. You can research it, just to see if there are other symptoms your little one is having. I would lean more towards nutrition at this point. Although not because of protien. I think flock raiser has around 20% and chick starter 18%, which isn't a major difference. You might want to try some poly soll vitamins through a dropper. Just a few drops a day. Hopefully someone else will have other suggestions. Good luck.

 

[Pampered Chicken]

He's still the same. He seems fine except he can't stand. His wing seems funny too. He will eat and drink if I hold him up. Guess I'll just see how it goes.

 

[jerseygirl1]

How about moldy food? Mine did the same - I treated with vitamins and electrolytes and he was OK

 

[Pampered Chicken]

Quote:
Everyone else in that pen seems fine. I'm going to give him vitamins and see how it goes.

 

[Glenbogel06]

I am currently going through the same thing with my 4 year old hen. About a week ago I found her just sitting in the pen, unable to stand up. She is bright and alert, no sneezing or congestion, eating and drinking normally, but she just can't get her legs underneath her. if she tries to stand, she ends up going backward, or falling over and catching herself with her wing. I currently have her separated from the other birds so that she doesn't get hurt, but still in the same area. When I pick her up, she moves her legs and flaps her wing, so she is not paralyzed. I have been giving her poly-visol, vitamin water, yogurt, and lots of love and attention hoping that she will pull through. My thought is botulism from something in the run because the food is just fine. But then I don't know why the other birds haven't gotten it. I do know that my whole flock has mites/lice which I just treated for a few days ago (after she got sick), so maybe the infestation was adding to her weakness or distress. All my other birds are just fine.

So I am just going to wait and see . . . .

 

[Glenbogel06]

BTY - there are a number of people out there that are having the same problem/issues with their birds from what I have been able to read on BYC, but no one has come up with the "ah-ha!" moment as far as a cure is concerned. It almost makes you wonder if there isn't some countrywide contamination of feed that just hasn't been discovered yet. I find it very suspicious that so many people have the same issue.