Hi Everyone. We've got a mystery with one of our hens. She's been to the vet but I'm hoping someone might have experience / suggestions. Particularly what conditions clear diarrhea may be a symptom of.
Shirley is an Azure Egger. She is 2 years old. She has been going through molt and her weight is down from 4lbs in June to 3.7lbs
She is unsteady on her legs - wobbly with movements like she is constantly trying to rebalance. She is not lethargic and while we have kept her inside overnight for the past week, she is restless to go out with everyone else during the day. She can walk and run but occasionally stumbles backwards, like she is catching herself from falling. I would call it ataxia but I don't know if it's neurological. She has also been having consistent diarrhea, often just clear liquid.
We just noticed the issue on December 17th - so one week as of this post.
All the other birds are fine.
No injury/trauma
Have no idea of cause. Initially suspected a nutritional deficiency from molting, but we have been supplementing her diet and there is no change. We also have checked for roost mites - our area is notorious for treatment resistant mites, and we are experts at this point in detecting / eradicating. We found a very small amount and have been treating the coop but it's nothing like infestations we've had before. We also wonder about worms and have a fecal test in to the vet but may not get results back before the holiday. I decided to go ahead and treat with Safeguard this morning.
She had been eating well, with the exception of today (and this was before giving her the safeguard). The whole flock gets purina layena and Modesto milling crumble. We have supplemented her diet this past week with a small amount of salmon cat food as well as calcium to support the molt. We have given poultry booster every other day. We have also been giving her liquid vitamin e /selenium that we use for wry neck, in case the stumbling was a preamble to torticollis.
Our biggest concern is that she may have Marek's. The vet checked her eyes for the grayness that can occur, but I know it can be present in other ways. But if we don't assume it's Marek's, is there anything else folks would suggest or point to?
Shirley is an Azure Egger. She is 2 years old. She has been going through molt and her weight is down from 4lbs in June to 3.7lbs
She is unsteady on her legs - wobbly with movements like she is constantly trying to rebalance. She is not lethargic and while we have kept her inside overnight for the past week, she is restless to go out with everyone else during the day. She can walk and run but occasionally stumbles backwards, like she is catching herself from falling. I would call it ataxia but I don't know if it's neurological. She has also been having consistent diarrhea, often just clear liquid.
We just noticed the issue on December 17th - so one week as of this post.
All the other birds are fine.
No injury/trauma
Have no idea of cause. Initially suspected a nutritional deficiency from molting, but we have been supplementing her diet and there is no change. We also have checked for roost mites - our area is notorious for treatment resistant mites, and we are experts at this point in detecting / eradicating. We found a very small amount and have been treating the coop but it's nothing like infestations we've had before. We also wonder about worms and have a fecal test in to the vet but may not get results back before the holiday. I decided to go ahead and treat with Safeguard this morning.
She had been eating well, with the exception of today (and this was before giving her the safeguard). The whole flock gets purina layena and Modesto milling crumble. We have supplemented her diet this past week with a small amount of salmon cat food as well as calcium to support the molt. We have given poultry booster every other day. We have also been giving her liquid vitamin e /selenium that we use for wry neck, in case the stumbling was a preamble to torticollis.
Our biggest concern is that she may have Marek's. The vet checked her eyes for the grayness that can occur, but I know it can be present in other ways. But if we don't assume it's Marek's, is there anything else folks would suggest or point to?
