Lethargic and a bit off balance hen

[roheryn]

Sadly she is deteriorating quickly. She can no longer stand, just kind of hobbles along on her hocks, using her wings and today she started isolating from the others. That is a bit cue to me, unfortunately. I've brought her into the house and set up a comfy 'nest' with medicated water and vitamins in her food. I'll continue with her vitamin regimen until next week to see if there is improvement, or if she declines further I'll take her for her final trip. It so sad, I just hate to see them try so hard and not get better. The vet (first one I took to an avian vet) said they don't feel pain with this, but it is very challenging for them to live this way. I do hope that's true, that she isn't in pain. My daughter has her in her room so she has company... hoping for the best!

 

[roheryn]

I found what looks like a mite on her comb. I checked her for mites and lice before bringing her in, so this is new. I don’t think that could be causing her decline, I would expect she would need to be covered to cause this much trouble and she isn’t. But in case this is an issue, could mites be causing her to not be able to stand?

 

[roheryn]

We took her for euthanization and testing April 21 after she could no longer stand or even sit on her own without support. This was 10 days after I noticed the initial signs. The lab reported this:

"Postmortem findings suggest that this chicken’s cause of death was a lymphoproliferative disease, most likely Marek’s disease. The nature and severity of the gross lesion (brain, sciatic nerve, heart, liver) is sufficient to stand as the cause of illness/death of this bird."

Sadly, we continue our journey with this stupid disease

 

[coach723]

I'm very sorry, sincerely. But at least you know. It's an awful disease.