Hen Struggling to Walk

[MickWithChicks]

I'm having some issues with one of my hens today. She's was in perfect health yesterday when I put her to bed, but seems way off today. She's still eating and drinking, but can't stand or walk. Her toes curl when she tries to walk and her tail and wings droop. She still has full colour in her comb and wattles and she is alert and has no issues with her eyes.

The feathering around her vent is thin and her vent seems raw. I can't feel any eggs in her abdomen. Her crop is soft, but has food in it; it isn't dropped.

I've given her an epsom salt bath which she sat into calmly for about 10 minutes before flailing to get out, so she still has energy, she just can't seem to walk.

Her poo is a little watery, but still fairly solid with plenty of fibrous material. A (very amateur) stool examination suggests that she doesn't appear to have internal parasites.

She has been laying for about 4 months now and is 12 months old. She's a beautiful Red Ancona that lays a medium sized chalk white egg every other day. She's never had issues laying or shown any signs of health issues until now.

She is happily eating and drinking, and I've given her some multi-vitamins in the hope it's vitamin D deficiency.

I'll aim to get some photos of a fresh stool when I can. If there's any other photos / videos that could help with identifying the issue, please ask and I'll get them uploaded.

Any help / advice is appreciated.

 

[MickWithChicks]

Here's a video of her walking:
https://streamable.com/pez2q

One of her grazing:
https://streamable.com/uj2ic

She CAN walk, it's just a struggle.

Here's a stool:

 

[ChickNanny13]

It's possible Riboflavin deficiency ... PolyVisol without iron 1 drop 3x day or Vitamin B Complex. Foods - eggs, salmon, liver, beef, pork, spinach, nuts, sesame seeds, nutritional yeast, tuna, mushrooms, fortified cereals

There's a sling that you could make to keep her upright, search it its the forum search, I tried posting a pix but it didn't work

It could also be something more, others will chirp in with their thoughts.

 

[MickWithChicks]

Thanks @ChickNanny13 . I've administered two drops orally of each Vetsense Avi-Vital and Avi-Calcium via syringe. Hopefully this will help with any deficiencies there.

https://www.vetsense.com.au/product/vetsense-avivital/
https://www.vetsense.com.au/product/vetsense-avicalcium/

I've also added some Dine-A-Chook Mega Mineral to her water to help with the intake of vitamins:

https://www.dineachook.com.au/products/Dine-a-Chook-Mega-Mineral-Supplement-25ml.html

I have given her several baths today to try to unbind any eggs. I'll note that I gently felt inside her vent after my original post and can feel an egg in there. I've applied copious amounts of water based lubricant to try to help with binding.

It doesn't seem to be mareks, but I can't rule it out. She's the only one of 17 showing any signs of distress. Edit: I should note that she IS vaccinated for mareks, so while possible, mareks seems unlikely.

 

[rebrascora]

In my opinion (and I'm usually the first to suggest Marek's) this is a reproductive issue. When did she last lay an egg? She appears to have significant abdominal swelling from that photo of her laying on her side. That would suggest there is a mass inside her, whether that is lash egg from salpingitis or a tumour or ascites from some other issue like fatty liver haemorrhagic syndrome is hard to tell but that tail down walk suggests it is most likely reproductive and a normal egg binding would not cause such swelling, so there is most likely something else going on. Can you cup your hand and feel between her legs and then do the same with a healthy hen? Roosting time is a good time to check this to save trying to chase down chickens. I am guessing she has a fullness either hanging between her legs or more likely below her vent. The mass may be pressing on a sciatic nerve and causing her pain and to want to rest.

I may of course be wrong and it could be a straight forward egg binding. You are doing all the right things to help with that ie bathing in warm Epsom salts bath, lubrication and calcium supplement. You might want to give her another soak in a few hours. Covering the bathing tub with a towel to make it dark will help her relax better, but do not leave her unsupervised. It may be that she had a spasm of pain that unsettled her the first time, half way through her soak.

 

[MickWithChicks]

When did she last lay an egg? She appears to have significant abdominal swelling from that photo of her laying on her side. That would suggest there is a mass inside her, whether that is lash egg from salpingitis or a tumour or ascites from some other issue like fatty liver haemorrhagic syndrome is hard to tell but that tail down walk suggests it is most likely reproductive and a normal egg binding would not cause such swelling, so there is most likely something else going on.

I'm pretty sure that she last laid an egg 3 days ago. She has historically laid roughly every 1-2 days.

She hasn't yet laid a lash egg and there's definitely a normal feeling egg about an inch inside her vent, though that doesn't rule out any of the ailments you've listed.

I am guessing she has a fullness either hanging between her legs or more likely below her vent. The mass may be pressing on a sciatic nerve and causing her pain and to want to rest.

There is definitely fullness just below her vent. It's soft to touch and not hot. Other hens in my flock don't have this same swelling. My thoughts were the same regarding the sciatic nerve and the symptoms (some lameness in both legs, unable to fully straighten toes, and general need to lay down) all point toward this. The cause of the pressure on the sciatic nerve is hopefully not nefarious and I hadn't noticed any symptoms prior to this morning (I spend quite a bit of time with them and always notice if something isn't quite right with my hens).

You might want to give her another soak in a few hours. Covering the bathing tub with a towel to make it dark will help her relax better, but do not leave her unsupervised.

It is night time here now, so I'm not sure how effective trying to encourage her to lay will be, but I'll give it a shot and see how it goes. I've got her inside in a crate tonight, so she'll at least be warm and comfortable.

Thanks for your help and I'll keep you posted.

 

[rebrascora]

If you are sure that you can feel a normal egg, then you can probably rule out salpingitis. If there was sufficient of a mass to cause that abdominal swelling then it is extremely unlikely she would be able to produce a normal egg and get it far enough past the mass for you to feel it. You would just be able to feel the lash egg mass. I will be interested to know how this pans out.... hopefully there will be a positive outcome for her. If not, and she doesn't make it, would you feel able to open her up and see what the problem is. I know that can be an emotional hurdle too far when you lose a pet, but it can be a really useful learning experience and perhaps make a positive out of a negative in that respect, if you can overcome the idea of doing it. It is surprising how often a diagnosis can be made or at least a problem identified, even if you are a lay person.

 

[MickWithChicks]

I gave her another bath tonight for about 30 minutes and a gentle massage. The egg is still in there and feels normal / solid. She was pretty sleepy though, so I don't think she's going to pass the egg tonight. I dried her as best I could and put her back into the crate with a fan heater in the room on low to keep the room warm overnight. Our cats are desperate to get in and investigate her.

Hopefully there's a positive outcome for her; she's always been a really good chook. If she doesn't make it I'll see how I feel about opening her up at the time. The DPI does poultry necropsy's and there's a lab at the university nearby. Anyway, I don't want to jump the gun yet, hopefully there'll be an egg in the crate in the morning and a chipper chicken wanting to rejoin her flock.

 

[rebrascora]

 

[MickWithChicks]

She's about the same today. No egg overnight, so I'll bath and massage her abdomen again once I've finished my morning meetings. Still swollen around the abdomen, but it seems to have subsided a bit.

She's eating, drinking, and trying to walk about. Her walking is a bit better, but still pretty wonky and drunk looking. As a normally very active hen, she obviously doesn't like sitting around too much.

I've given her a couple of drops of Avi-Calcium and Avi-Vital in some greek yoghurt this morning and she lapped that up. Her crop felt a little light when I put her outside, so I'll mix some of her feed in with yoghurt and eggs to entice her to get into the food.