Lame Hen

[Soulful chick]

Good morning. Yesterday I went to collect eggs and my sweet hen was lying halfway out of her box. I picked her up and she was very weak and lethargic. I gave her water and that perked her up. She will not eat. I put her in a cage with food and water and heat lamp. Thought I’d find her dead this morning but she made it through the night. Her left leg stays extended and she cannot stand, just flaps her wings when I try to stand her up. She can still wrap her toes around my finger and leg still has circulation because it is warm. I can bend it in and out and she doesn’t squawk. Her eyes are clear. No trembling. I don’t think it’s Mereck’s. Thoughts? I am not averse to culling if she is in pain, but she is my favorite hen and will do all I can for her

 

[azygous]

I'm so sorry, but that leg position is one of the most common indications of Marek's Disease. While it isn't possible to cure Marek's, some chickens that have it can survive an episode of becoming symptomatic.

Try to get Poultry Nutri-drench into her for starters. That will perk her up and revive her. Then offer her soft boiled egg. If she won't or can't eat and drink on her own, try syringing liquids and you might even need to tube feed to get enough food into her to strengthen her so she can then eat on her own.

 

[Ebony Rose]

A portion of baby aspirin can be offered for pain. A baby aspirin is about 80mg, and adult aspirin is typically 325mg (but some 'extra strength' varieties are 500mg). Break the pills into the appropriate sized pieces if necessary. DOSAGE is 25mg per pound of chicken. I personally prefer to use baby aspirin as it is almost always buffered and the taste is not offensive. Since she's refusing food, you may need to hold her tucked under your non-dominant arm with your non-dominant hand holding onto her waddles. With dominant hand, open her beak and once open, slip your non-dominant hand's pinky finger between upper and lower beak. Now poke the aspirin dose into the back of her tongue, by her throat. Let her swallow the medicine piece by piece, re-opening her beak as needed until her dosage has been administered. She may struggle with this procedure but it will not hurt her.

 

[Soulful chick]

I'm so sorry, but that leg position is one of the most common indications of Marek's Disease. While it isn't possible to cure Marek's, some chickens that have it can survive an episode of becoming symptomatic.

Try to get Poultry Nutri-drench into her for starters. That will perk her up and revive her. Then offer her soft boiled egg. If she won't or can't eat and drink on her own, try syringing liquids and you might even need to tube feed to get enough food into her to strengthen her so she can then eat on her own.

 

[Soulful chick]

Oh no! Really? How would she have gotten it? What about the rest of my chickens?

 

[azygous]

I am not able to diagnose your hen, so it's just a wild guess based on the presentation of her legs as she collapsed. To confirm Marek's requires a necropsy on a dead chicken.

If this hen has Marek's all the chickens in your flock has it. It's a very, very contagious disease, easily spread on the soles of shoes from infected flock to the store floor, picked up on your shoes, and brought home to your flock. Wild birds can spread it. Wind can spread it. It can even travel around on people's clothes.

Some strains of Marek's can be managed with good nutrition and care. Chickens can develop resistance to it and live normal lives except for becoming symptomatic when subjected to stress. Many of these can recover, although they will never be free of the virus which lives in the cells for the life of the chicken.