hen suddenly can't walk -- i see no telltale signs why

[chicken legs]

strange bulges and ligaments at her back and neck area

Could these be from the mites? Her back and neck are where they would be, from what I've read. The chicken can't reach there and that's why they choose those areas. I think she might be anemic from mite infestation and you're just seeing them now. Don't cull her. Give the poor thing a chance. JMHO​

 

[d.k]

* She's probly got a combination of deficiencies. B-2 is tough, but IS in milk that has NOT be exposed to light (Meaning, feed milk from a CARTON, yogurt or no-sodium cottage cheese.) There is also B-2 in almonds- you could grind or smash some to add a spoon or two to her feed. Another member has had a little success with electrolytes-- probably due to the magnesium in them, which "relaxes" the muscles. Depending on the severity of the mites infestation, anemia is also a possibility. The upward progress in the other hen has been VERY unhappily erratic- but there have been good results sometimes. The excessive thirst thing is a puzzler, but is present in my friend's hen, too. Thought it might be due to the high salt content in 'lytes, but it was present b/f. . . Some genetic mineral problem, maybe???

 

[chicken legs]

Here's a picture of a Mareks chicken. Is it the same leg behavior? How about the eye?

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/203602.htm&word=mareks

 

[chickenannie]

She does not have the traditional Marek's syndrome of "one foot forward, one foot back". BOTH her feet are forward. She sits back on her hocks so that the entire length of her leg below her hock is touching the ground. I've been giving her avian vitamins in her water in addition to her other feeds and some nutritional yeast for extra B vitamins. It's so painful to watch her suffer like this.

 

[chicknmania]

We have a hen with a very similar condition. I have posted about her a couple of times. She started out clumsy and has slowly gotten worse. She sits on her rear, has trouble walking, falls frequently, poor weight., does not eat well. Her feathers are usually scraggly too, from falling in water or dirt. It took us a while before we noticed that she was falling; she does not always do it. She is just a young hen. She is not throwing up as yours is, though, but has a lot of the same symptoms. Her toes don't necessarily curl, but she seems to have a problem gripping. She cannot fly, but can use her wings some. She is not laying. We have been treating her with high potency vitamins, first polyvisol, and now a vitamin mixture we got from our avian vet. We have consulted with several people about her, including Peter Brown, the chicken doctor, but we have not taken her for a vet visit. The general consensus is that it seems to be a vitamin deficiency, not Marek's. The vitamins seem to help, but she will improve for a while, then decline again. We are going to try high dose antibiotics for a while, because ours is starting to develop a stuffy nose and seems to have a problem swallowing. There are lots of look alike conditions, but I thought you'd like to know, cause there are a lot of similarities here. Please keep us up to date about your hen, and I will do the same, if it helps yours.

 

[chicknmania]

You might want to try calcium for yours...we did for ours for a while and it did seem to help for a couple of days. You take a Tum tablet, crush it, and mix with her food. We had fruit-flavored tums and our Moppit liked those, we didn't have to mix them with anything but her layer crumbles.

 

[CarriBrown]

Call Peter Brown and get his advice while you can. They are going to start charging $20 unless you are a recent customer. He really knows a lot and is great at calling back.

I have a hen who is going through the same thing (I have a thread going in another part of the forum) and she is getting worse and worse. Her lows are getting lower even though we are agressive with vitamin treatment. Our area is known for it's poor water, and the vets in the area suggest we treat ALL of our animals for vitamin defeciencies because of the water. I've had a bird die of this before.
Call Peter, get very agressive with vitamins and keep an eye on her. Make sure she is getting enough to eat and drink, and make sure she hasn't fallen over someplace and can't get up.
Good luck to you.

 

[d.k]

* So, she's "butt sitting"??? Maybe she needs the TUMS treatment then!! Have you tried that already??? I have heard this type of thing nearly a dozen times just since I have been on BYC, and I wondering now if it's a adult version of malabsorption. . . .

 

[mandomama]

What about fish oil? Cod liver oil? I don't know anything, but am sorry you are having to go through this.

 

[babyboy1_mom]

I also am having this problem with one of my RIR hens. I posted in a different forum and I received some advice and I have been doing/trying everything that people have suggested, but none of it has helped.

It started off that just one foot and toes were curled under and I noticed today that she is keeping the other foot tucked under (not curled, just under). She cannot walk or fly. She just lays there. Sometimes, she will just scoot herself across the ground a few inches. I hate to have her put down, but if I do not see any improvement soon, then that is what I am going to have to do. I cannot stand to see her just suffering.

If anything that I am doing works, then I will let you know.

Dorothy