Help! Old English Game can barely walk!

[Campine Lover]

Ok, I really need help! I have an 8 month old Silver Birchen OEG banty pullet and she can barely walk! It started 2 days ago when I put her back in the standard breeds coop. Not her regular banty coop because it took me until 8:30 PM to find her in the garden, and I was late for something. I wish I hadn't done that. When I went out again in the morning, it took me awhile to find her. Ended up the big meanie Standard hens had chased her into a small cranny where she had been crammed all night, with one wing smushed OVER HER BACK!

Her wing seemed to droop a little, but then again they always drooped. But now she can barely walk. She walks as if she is dizzy, can't balance on the roost, and favors both of the bottoms of her feet. If I place her down after holding her, she falls back onto her hocks and bottom and takes awhile to get back up. Her hocks seem to stick out a litttle when she tries to walk, and she walks in a zig zag staggering pattern.
I just got her 3 months ago, at the Stockton, CA poultry show, (the really, really, really big one!) The guy seemed very anxious to get rid of her. She was PERFECT until now. Ok, ok, maybe she isn't as slim as a show bird, and her laceing is off, but she is very sweet.
Is this a disease? Muscle problem? IS IT CATCHING AND WILL SHE GET BETTER?!?!?!?!? If it is possible to cure it (medicines, ect) Or should I wait to see if her leg is just bothering her and it will be gone in awhile? Please help!

 

[SilverPhoenix]

Oh gosh, I'm so sorry! This sounds like quite an upsetting issue... It sounds to me like she's sustained some form of nerve damage. Until you figure out what exactly is wrong (hopefully someone with more experience in this field will pop up soon enough), I would keep her isolated, keep her warm, and have her in a cage indoors where you can keep an eye on her. She may simply need time to heal, but I think regardless the first step is making sure she's safe from bullying and being kept somewhere warm and comfortable with access to food and water.

Good luck, and I hope you find a solution soon! I lost two of my OEGB from PPBA recently and I'm very sad about it...

 

[Campine Lover]

Thanks for responding. I don't know if this is important, but the breeder was from Oregon. (anybody from up there know any diseases?) While researching, I found a disease called Gapes. Never heard of it before (when the mouth gapes open, the birds gasps, more common on turkies) I do not think she has it, but when I hold her she gasps. She barely does it anymore, but she still does. This has NOTHING to do with her leg problem, though.
As for nerve damage, that is quite possible... Silver Pheonix, did mean lost as in someone stole or they died? Either way, I am very sorry. OEG's are so cute.
I am about to move her into the empty rabbit hutch in the garage with a heat lamp. She doesn't like eating dry crumble, so I make it damp, also I give her soaked bread and yogurt. I have my fingers crossed for her! Can anyone else help? How do you fix nerve damage?

 

[Campine Lover]

Anyone Else?!??!?!?!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!? Please!

 

[SilverPhoenix]

If no one else has any advice, it could just be one of those "wait and see" cases. I know when my wildlife rehab group gets in birds with nerve damage, we usually just make sure the bird has access to food and water and give them some physical therapy to help them gradually restore their motion. It sounds like she's in a good, safe place for now. Hopefully someone else will have some other input. Gasping is not a good sign at all, but if she's not gasping as badly as she was that's good. Hold her up to your ear and see if you can hear clicking in her lungs (not clicking of the beak--you will be able to hear it in the lungs). If she does have clicking in her lungs, it means there is fluid in there and she will need to go on antibiotics.

My two OEGB pullets from PPBA and a cockerel that was in with them all passed away very suddenly earlier this week.

Still uncertain as to why...

Also, if you could provide photos/video of her, that would help me and anyone else reading this thread to determine what exactly the issue is and give more specific advice.

Good luck--I hope you're able to save her!

 

[Kittymomma]

S.P is right. For the time being good supportive care is best. In situations like this things will often resolve themselves and it's nearly impossible to figure out if something else is going on until enough time has passed to rule out that it's "just" trauma from the initial incident. The only other things that I would add is to give her some scrambled egg and some electrolytes in her water. Also, if you have another banty that she's friendly with and you don't think will pick at her in her weakend state she would probably be more comfortable with a buddy. Good luck with her, hopefully by tomorrow she'll be back to normal.

 

[RuffledFeathers]

I'm like a broken record- I see so many posts with similar symptoms- look up Mareks (Range Paralysis). The symptoms can be very broad and show up in many different forms in the same flock. It can cause, limping, paralysis in one leg or one wing, depression, weight losss (wasting), internal tumors that affect egg laying, gasping for air (tumors pressuring lungs), and more. It is fatal in some birds and not in others. It is so common that most books state that unless you have purchased vaccinated day-old chicks, then you can bet that you have the Mareks virus in your flock. Birds that have been exposed develop immunity if it does not kill them, and most never show symptoms.
The only way I know to get a confirmed diagnosis is to have an autopsy done if the bird passes away. I did on the third bird and I am glad I know now.
Good nursing care- isolate, keep her warm, keep her hydrated (use a dropper if needed), hand-feed things like yogurt. Do the best you can and see how she does. Most will pass away within 2 weeks of showing symptoms, so if you make it past then, it would be a good sign.
Keep us updated if you can, good luck!

 

[Kittymomma]

I agree that this kind of thing is often mereks, it was my first thought when I saw the threads title, but this chook was crammed into a small space in a very bad positon overnight, so it seems more likely (to me) to be related to that.

 

[Campine Lover]

Thanks everyone. She is doing better (currently sunning herself in the chicken tractor w/ her Modern Game buddies) so I can rule out Marek's. Thank god! I think just being cramped in the hole hurt her legs a bit. She should be fine. BTW her name is Missy

and she says thanks!

 

[SilverPhoenix]

I'm so glad she's feeling better!

I hope she continues to improve.