Hen with balance issues and undigested food

[maryjoy462]

Hi all,
My 1 year old Welsummer hen started acting strange on 4 days ago. I can usually find what the ailment is and a natural solution pretty quickly but this time I am stumped and I hope you can help!
Her name is Nugget and she is one of my favorites. So friendly and usually runs up to say hello. On Monday she was sitting on the floor of the coop outside the nest boxes. Whenever she tried to move she would flap and fall over and try to right herself again. It’s like she’s lost her balance.
I’ve been keeping an eye on her inside and did a full health scan to the best of my abilities. She is eating and drinking though definitely eating less than normal, her crop feels normal, not egg bound(which is what we suspected at first), poop has been normal until today when I noticed undigested food in it..., bright comb and wattle, clear eyes, beautiful feathers, no lumps or bumps, breathing sounds fine and she talks to us when we go to check on her. I’m so confused. She can’t stand for more than a second and tends to fall forward or to the side. Her go-to position is leaning back on her bum. She mostly just sits, and eats/drinks when we encourage her. No eggs from her since before Monday. One thing I just remembered is that when she drinks water it almost sounds like her “stomach grumbles” or like she “burps”. Don’t know if that’s normal.
The most I’ve been able to find is that it’s probably a vitamin deficiency? But now with the undigested food in her poop I’m concerned it’s something gut related which in turn would have already caused a deficiency of some kind.
I’ve been feeding her layer feed, sunflower seeds, mealworms, scrambled eggs and oyster shells. Today I added a plant based multi-vitamin, flaxseed, garlic powder, dried basil, and nutritional yeast. I put apple cider vinegar and liquid mineral drops in her water. Their run is huge and has gravel and rocks of all kinds so I know she has had enough grit.
I prefer natural solutions but am open to any suggestions. I just want to know how to help her and any leads on what it could be.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Bantam BCM]

Hi. Thank you for providing such detailed information on her symptoms and your response and treatment. Clearly you care deeply and are doing a lot of great stuff to help her. Your approach using natural remedies is commendable.
I would agree that the sounds you hear when she swallows water as well as the appearance of her poop seem to indicate an issue in her digestive tract somewhere. Although, without the presence of blood and her continued appetite it seems to rule out a persisting obstruction or perforation.
The difficulty diagnosing with chickens is their tendency to mask symptoms that would point to a quick diagnosis. With her also exhibiting some neurological symptoms my mind keeps going back to trauma as the cause. I have a few questions: What do her eyes look like? How do they respond to light and attempts to touch them? Is she curling her toes at all at rest?
I also have a naturally based suggestion you can use while searching for answers to the underlying cause.
Chaga tea has amazing anti inflammatory properties and will work behind the scenes to address any unapparent problems with inflammation anywhere within her body. It is also a powerful immune booster, gut healer, encourages a healthy mucosal layer within the digestive tract, anti cancer properties, will work to repair neurological damage, is a powerful anti viral and has no side effects or contraindications.
The taste is palatable for chickens so they drink it willingly. If you have a source to buy it or forage for it I would absolutely recommend you begin treating her with it as we all rally to help you diagnose her more specifically.

 

[Eggcessive]

My 7 year old hen a year ago who had been vaccinated for Mareks disease as a chick, showed similar symptoms of losing balance and falling backward or to the side. She had good leg strength and could stand, only to fall over. That lasted 5 weeks. She could not get to food or water, and refused to drink water. She stayed in a basket in the coop, where I fed her very watery chicken feed, vitamins, canned cat food, and cottage cheese. Finally she began to jump out of the basket, and go outside to free range, although she was wobbly. A year later, she is normal except for being slightly wobbly at times, but ranges over an acre of ground daily.

Since your hen is having undigested food in her droppings, you may want to see a vet and take in some of her droppings to get them tested for the usual worms, coccidia, and also get a gram stain for enteritis. I would stick mostly to chicken feed and vitamins and easily digested foods, plus making sure that she is drinking well.

 

[maryjoy462]

Hi. Thank you for providing such detailed information on her symptoms and your response and treatment. Clearly you care deeply and are doing a lot of great stuff to help her. Your approach using natural remedies is commendable.
I would agree that the sounds you hear when she swallows water as well as the appearance of her poop seem to indicate an issue in her digestive tract somewhere. Although, without the presence of blood and her continued appetite it seems to rule out a persisting obstruction or perforation.
The difficulty diagnosing with chickens is their tendency to mask symptoms that would point to a quick diagnosis. With her also exhibiting some neurological symptoms my mind keeps going back to trauma as the cause. I have a few questions: What do her eyes look like? How do they respond to light and attempts to touch them? Is she curling her toes at all at rest?
I also have a naturally based suggestion you can use while searching for answers to the underlying cause.
Chaga tea has amazing anti inflammatory properties and will work behind the scenes to address any unapparent problems with inflammation anywhere within her body. It is also a powerful immune booster, gut healer, encourages a healthy mucosal layer within the digestive tract, anti cancer properties, will work to repair neurological damage, is a powerful anti viral and has no side effects or contraindications.
The taste is palatable for chickens so they drink it willingly. If you have a source to buy it or forage for it I would absolutely recommend you begin treating her with it as we all rally to help you diagnose her more specifically.

She hasn’t experienced any trauma that I am aware of as far as predator attacks or the other hens picking on her. She is about mid-range in the pecking order so she can hold her own in a confrontation. I tested her range of motion and applied pressure in different areas of her body and she didn’t flinch or cry out, but that doesn’t rule out some kind of internal injury.
Her pupils look normal and they adjust to the light, the rest of her eye is golden/orangey and she closes her eyes or shakes her head away when I try to touch them. Her feet are flat at rest, she curls them when trying to lean forward like she’s trying to gain traction.
I’m going to get some pictures of her today and will add them to this thread. Might help someone see something I can’t.
I will get some Chaga tea today! Thank you!

 

[maryjoy462]

My 7 year old hen a year ago who had been vaccinated for Mareks disease as a chick, showed similar symptoms of losing balance and falling backward or to the side. She had good leg strength and could stand, only to fall over. That lasted 5 weeks. She could not get to food or water, and refused to drink water. She stayed in a basket in the coop, where I fed her very watery chicken feed, vitamins, canned cat food, and cottage cheese. Finally she began to jump out of the basket, and go outside to free range, although she was wobbly. A year later, she is normal except for being slightly wobbly at times, but ranges over an acre of ground daily.

Since your hen is having undigested food in her droppings, you may want to see a vet and take in some of her droppings to get them tested for the usual worms, coccidia, and also get a gram stain for enteritis. I would stick mostly to chicken feed and vitamins and easily digested foods, plus making sure that she is drinking well.

That story gives me hope! I’m glad your hen is doing so well! Thank you for your suggestions. She’s been drinking when I set the water bowl right in front of her. I will soak her feed as well to make sure she is getting enough liquid.

 

[maryjoy462]

Update on Nugget: she is improving! It’s been 10 days since I found her struggling to stand and walk. She is now taking a few halting steps, standing to eat, and being very vocal! Before when we checked on her she would cluck softly, but now she’s doing a full on chicken sounds. Music to my ears. I found Chaga mushroom powder at a local health food store. I’ve been making her 1 tsp powder in 1 cup boiling water and then letting it cool to room temp before feeding. I’ve done this for 3 days now and I think it has made all the difference!
Her full appetite is returning and poop looks better, though there is still some undigested bits in there.
I’ve continued with ACV in the water and regular layer feed + sunflower seeds, mealworms and oyster shells.
I also started diffusing 3 drops of an essential oil blend called DDR Prime each day. It is very good for brain health and cell renewal so I figured it would help Nugget. I used this same blend with a chick a few weeks ago who had a nervous twitch and balance issues that I believe was caused by stress. She was greatly improved in just 30 mins of being held near the diffuser and back to normal the next day.

 

[Eggcessive]

It is good to hear that Nugget is standing to eat and taking some steps. Hopefully, she will continue to get better from whatever was happening. Thanks for the update.