Hen Was Fine - Now Can't Walk! Advice?

[ComfortSoup]

Age: 2+ years
Breed: Don't Know

Day One: The first evening I go in to shut the hens in their coop and find that she isn't roosting like she normally would. It looks like she is sleeping on her chest/ body. I tried to get her on her feet but she was unable to. I though it might just be that it was bed time though so I decided to leave her for the night and check in the morning.

Day Two: Interestingly she seems fine on day two and is able to walk around outside with as far as I can tell no problems.

Day Three to Day Seven (current day): She has reverted back and for the past five days has been unable to use her feet. Otherwise she seems alert and normal. She will drink water and food but she seems to not be able to use her feet at all - Even when I try to move her feet or claws there is no resistance from her like you would expect.

- The fact that she was able to walk around fine on the second day confounds me and makes me think that it must not be a physical injury.

- For the past four days I have been adding apple cider vinegar to water supply as per advice in another thread.

- None of the other hens (ten total) have shown any issues. Likewise have not noticed any sort of fighting.

- She is still at least able to use her wings to some degree (hard to tell exactly if there is mobility changes or not).

- Eats and drinks without any issue.

- Hasn't lost any weight as far as I can tell.

- She doesn't seem to experience any pain when I try to move her feet.

- I have yet to see her even try to get up she just lies there.

- Fortunately she doesn't seem to be suffering. Unfortunately she doesn't seem to be getting any better.

I've attached a 30 second video below that should help show the hen's current condition better than I could ever verbalize:

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Two questions:

1) What do you think the issue is and what can I do to fix the issue?

2) How long is it reasonable to wait to see if she gets better? If it seems that she is starting to suffer I believe the correct thing to do would be to euthanize her. However right now she seems just fine - she just can't walk!

It is a shame because she is our friendliest hen. Any help would be appreciated

 

[CoopintheWoods]

To preface my advice: I am neither an expert nor a veterinarian.

But whenever a chicken has some injury that came on suddenly but doesn't seem to be suffering- I ALWAYS recommend a daily dose of half of a baby aspirin for a few days and see if the condition improves. You can put it in a little fish-based wet cat food to make them take it, and the extra protein can't hurt either.

Of course, always examine for parasites, any signs of infection, or egg binding as well.

 

[Myrshine]

Do her legs or feet feel warm to the touch at all? Are they swollen or discolored (green or blue)? There are many causes as to why a chicken could suddenly lose their use of their legs.

1) What do you think the issue is and what can I do to fix the issue?: It can be anything from an injury, a vitamin deficiency to a disease. Common causes of injuries could be both of her legs broken, sprained or overall sore. Common diseases that affect the legs of chickens is Marek’s Disease, Infectious Synoviae (MS) or Avian Leukosis Virus (ALV). A vitamin deficiency of B-12 can also cause her to lose the function of her legs.

2) How long is it reasonable to wait to see if she gets better?: Before jumping to anything, I suggest treating her with vitamins, more specifically for vitamin B-12. It can take a few days to weeks for her to recover from this, it really depends on how her body absorbs the vitamin. If she doesn’t seem to get any better within the first 2 weeks or if she is continuing to go downhill, then I would suggest getting her tested for Marek’s Disease, MS and ALV.

 

[ComfortSoup]

I ALWAYS recommend a daily dose of half of a baby aspirin for a few days and see if the condition improves.

Thanks I will try this and see how it goes!

Do her legs or feet feel warm to the touch at all? Are they swollen or discolored (green or blue)?

I just felt them and they are warm. They don't appear to be swollen or discolored.

A vitamin deficiency of B-12 can also cause her to lose the function of her legs.

I have B-12 vitamin pills made for humans that should be able to be dissolved in water - will that work? Or is there special chicken B12 treatment?