Isa Brown dizzy in the rain

[annierose]

Previous post Jan 4th 2021:
Hi all!
Isa brown is around 10 months old and is displaying an unsteady gait. It has happened twice in the last 4 weeks and seems to last a few hours and then she's back to being fast pace with everything (very cheeky and curious).
She is eating and drinking as normal during these periods.
I took her to the vets today (emergency consultation ), they agreed she is a very healthy bird but something is wrong. They have suggested it could be Marek Disease or a 'Yolk Stroke.' Did a blood test to determine if she had high levels of lead in her system- too low to have an affect.

I've emailed the breeder to see if she vaccinated her chicks for Marek Disease, I just can't remember.

Any ideas? Vitamin deficiencies?

Pretty devastating as she's my favourite () but Vets have just said but to hope that she learns to live it otherwise nothing you can do.

I've tried to video it, basically body goes one way and the head goes another.


Hi everyone!
I've been monitoring this chicken and she is still very much so happy, lively and healthy. It is only when she goes out into the rain do this symptoms/behaviour appear which will take her about a day to return back to normal (that rain has to stop too). For example, in the mornings when it has be raining before I let them out of the henhouse, her behaviour is normal. Give her 2-3 minutes in the rain and she back to having an unsteady gait. It happens every time it rains, fortunately it's been summer in Melbourne and hasn't rained too much so it's quite easy to define it. But we're coming into winter and I'm not sure how it'll go.

Anyone experienced this?
It's so strange.

A video attached but doesn't capture it at it's worst:

TIA xxx

 

[SulkyBantam]

@azygous @Eggcessive

 

[azygous]

Your video doesn't really show anything but a normal chicken behaving normally. But I believe you that she's experiencing balance issues.

It's a clue, and thanks for providing it, that she experiences this unsteadiness after she gets damp. That might indicate that she's susceptible to hypothermia. And yes, it's possible even when it's a warm day.

As the guy was told after he complained that hitting his head with a hammer hurt to stop hitting his head with a hammer, it follows that this chicken should be kept from getting wet, and if she does, she needs to be dried and rewarmed quickly.

Of course, it could be something esoteric and mysteriously neurological, but when the clues are this obvious, it's a natural diagnosis to start with.

By starting with hypothermia, if these symptoms persist even when you take great care not to let her get wet and cold, then we can rule out hypothermia and take a look at things that cause neurological symptoms. Mold, petroleum toxins, vitamin deficiencies, viruses and some bacterial infections are possibilities.

 

[Eggcessive]

Does she seem to be able to see normally? Does her neck seem straight most of the time? Does she sway or fall backward or to the side?

 

[Saveria]

Our rooster had an unsteady gait when he had an infection that was making his electrolyte balance off. I fed him electrolyte water and gave him bread that had echinacea tincture on it. He was even more unsteady than your hen in the video, but he got better slowly.
I heard that if chickens are vaccinated for mareks they can still get it, but it doesn't completely debilitate them. Maybe that is what happened to her?