DuckyandPiper
Hatching
- Dec 29, 2021
- 3
- 1
- 6
Hey all. I am in need of some advice about my hen showing some neurological symptoms. I have had chickens all my life, but I haven't seen this before.:
1) Age: 2 years old, vaccinated for Mareks so it cant be that.
2) What is the behavior, exactly: leg weakness, leaning left or right when she walks as if her balance is off. No head shaking. Seems sore when she is picked up.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?: since this morning, so about 12 hours
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?: no, its just her
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.: none
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation: The only thing i can think of is mycotoxins. I found a clump of moldy food in their bag of feed. The rest of the food was fine, but I was frustrated to find the lid to the container the food was being stored in had a hole and was leaking water into the food. But the feed in their coop was fine.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all: yes she is eating and drinking
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.: normal
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?: new food, i threw out everything else, I clean their water every time I go into the coop, which is at least every other day, so I dumped it and gave them fresh water, i removed their feeder and replaced it with a temporary dish to prevent contamination of the new food, just in case. their bedding was fresh but I didnt want to take chances so I dumped the bedding in their egg boxes and replaced it with new shavings (pine). I clean up their droppings and replace their water so frequently i would be surprised if that was it but i didnt want to risk it. I checked if she by chance was egg bound but I didn't feeling anything.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? : it is really challenging finding a bird vet right now, so if I can help her myself that would be ideal, im happy to see a vet but i feel my chances of getting one are slim
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use: the chicken coop is surrounded on three sides by tarps, the third side is open (the coop is predator proof by design so open just means available for ventilation). the substrate is dirt (not store bought, its natural dirt), bedding in their boxes is pine shavings. I live in northern california, no snow. current temperatures are lowest around 36 degrees, high humidity.
1) Age: 2 years old, vaccinated for Mareks so it cant be that.
2) What is the behavior, exactly: leg weakness, leaning left or right when she walks as if her balance is off. No head shaking. Seems sore when she is picked up.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?: since this morning, so about 12 hours
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?: no, its just her
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.: none
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation: The only thing i can think of is mycotoxins. I found a clump of moldy food in their bag of feed. The rest of the food was fine, but I was frustrated to find the lid to the container the food was being stored in had a hole and was leaking water into the food. But the feed in their coop was fine.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all: yes she is eating and drinking
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.: normal
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?: new food, i threw out everything else, I clean their water every time I go into the coop, which is at least every other day, so I dumped it and gave them fresh water, i removed their feeder and replaced it with a temporary dish to prevent contamination of the new food, just in case. their bedding was fresh but I didnt want to take chances so I dumped the bedding in their egg boxes and replaced it with new shavings (pine). I clean up their droppings and replace their water so frequently i would be surprised if that was it but i didnt want to risk it. I checked if she by chance was egg bound but I didn't feeling anything.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? : it is really challenging finding a bird vet right now, so if I can help her myself that would be ideal, im happy to see a vet but i feel my chances of getting one are slim
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use: the chicken coop is surrounded on three sides by tarps, the third side is open (the coop is predator proof by design so open just means available for ventilation). the substrate is dirt (not store bought, its natural dirt), bedding in their boxes is pine shavings. I live in northern california, no snow. current temperatures are lowest around 36 degrees, high humidity.
