hen unbalanced, standing on hocks all day. help! ** more pics added**

[MotherJean]

Assuming this is the same hen that was the topic of this thread that went out to 31 pages and over 300 posts! https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=371501

If you'd like more details about this bird, PamperedPullet, I'm sure you can find them there.

 

[Chickengal505]

Hmmmmmmm

BUMP

 

[The Lisser]

I watched the video from the other thread. This looks exactly like my 3 week old chick, Fennel, who was vaccinated as a day-old chick for Marek's Disease. Fennel went from running around to hobbling like that in one day. She can put weight on her "hocks" or ankles - but cannot stand up all the way. Like your chicken, she eats and drinks great, and her poop is normal.

I talked to my vet - who almost went into poultry science but now is a dog/cat vet . . . he said it sounds like Marek's - which can cause nerve damage with varying degrees of leg/foot paralysis. I am hoping she will show more improvement but I'm not going to make her live like that indefinitely. How long has your chicken been like that?

Good luck. I hope you find an answer.

Melissa

 

[oliviad51]

My hen has been like this for 3 ( possibly four?) Months now. She has shown no improvement, if anything, she has gotten worse. She falls left, right, to the front and back. She sits all day on her ankles and is extremely shakey. Her poo looks normal, she eats, drinks fine.

I know this sounds bad, but its almost like she's drunk!

Melissa, I think our babies are dealing with the same thing, and as of a few weeks ago, so is "jesseanne". ( BYC username). She falls on her face a lot if she tries to walk. Her feet have grip and seem strong, but she can't use them to walk on. I'm starting to think it could be mareks too. I wish there was a cure for this!!

 

[Qi Chicken]

OK, I'm in the same boat as you all. My 5 month old welsummer hen Nan has been unable to walk for about 3 weeks. I began by giving her the usual egg, yogurt and polyvisol. Went to vitamin B. She has had that about 5 days or more? I haven't given it to her the last few days because her poop was turning green. I will get some more grit in there. Vet thought calcuim deficiency so he gave her an injection. Didn't help. this was 2 weeks ago? She is still cheerful and eats well, can't tell if she is losing weight or not. She is definitely light. She walks a few steps on her tip toes. Today started toppling forward, before she toppled to the side. Can fly out of our arms. Will move around some within 2-3 feet area. I AM SO FRUSTRATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just don't know what to do. She is not getting worse, and maybe SLOWLY SLOWLY SLOWLY slightly better. Very slightly. I just don't know what is wrong and it is driving me crazy. Poor Nanette.

I thought I just read that if they act drunk it could be riboflavin. Going to look that up now. ACK.

OK, riboflavin is B2. She has been getting plenty of that in her B complex. I know that vitamin E must have selenium in it to be useful? Any other info/experience with this???

 

[oliviad51]

At least you have a vet! Haha
Yours sounds just like mine. She will run on the tip of her feet and flap her wings when she wants to go somewhere a long distance. If she needs to get to a short distance, she will eventually get there, flipping, hobbling and falling on the way. If you find out anything, let me know.

 

[Qi Chicken]

Ok, New symptom! Nan has been laying throughout this. Short timeline:

Saturday: (2 1/2 weeks ago) Brought her in. She had never layed an egg

Tues: Layed first egg. Beautiful

Wed am: Soft shell egg. Vet diagnosed calcium deficiency before I told him this

Thurs or Fri: Egg with soft dents in it but mostly hard.

Hard shelled eggs every other day or so. Sometimes many days in a row.

Yesterday evening: egg

This morning: Egg

Tonight 10pm soft shelled egg. Tonight 10:30 pm ANOTHER soft shelled egg.

She keeps getting shavings in her oyster shell, not sure she knows they are there all the time. wll take better care of that.

I just fed her hard boiled egg with crushed up egg shells in it and some mealy worms. Put more b vit in her food. I think I'll take her to vet one more time for blood work and feces sample. If no new info and not doing better this can't go on.

SHe is trying to walk on her toenails. It is very obvious. Does anyone know what this means???????????

PS by vet I do not mean a poultry vet. Just a vet vet, although a nice guy!

pps: Went into the coop to lock everyone up and one of the chickens was tangled in the fly strip that was hanging from the exact center of a 10 x 12 ft. coop. How she did this I don't know. What is on those things anyway? Got her untangled. She seems ok.

 

[babsh]

I had a sebright that suddenly couldn't walk. She would fall to the side and use her wing to stabilize. Brought her in and found bumblefoot. Treated that, but she still stumbled and started to get very ill. Vet gave me some amoxicillan because she thought she had sepsis (blood infection). It was really a "hail mary" attempt, but lo and behold, it worked. Slowly she improved and now is totally normal.

I suppose if your bird had an infection, she'd be sicker by now. But maybe?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

It is very difficult to deal with multiple birds owned by multiple people in one thread. Sorry if I sound mean, but each of you, please start your own thread.

OP, how long has this been going on? Was the onset sudden or slowly progressive?

No, It is very unlikely to be a brain tumor, although a neurologic problems such as seizures or encephalytis are certainly possibilities.

Mareks leg parallysis has a distinctive posture: the splits. Botulism is a possibility; it is fairly common; a thorough flush of the system before permanent damage occurs will result in complete recovery.

 

[oliviad51]

She does split her legs sometimes. She will stand on her hocks or split. She has not been laying ever sincer this whole thing started, a few months back.