Little one not feeling well. Any suggestions would be great!

[siblechick]

I have a 16 to 20 week old female Buff Orpington not feeling well. Its been going on for about 5 days now. We first noticed that she would just stand in one place, neck hunched into body with eyes closed. Then she started laying down and not moving much. She is alert when you walk up to her but doesn't move much. I picked her up and set her back down to see if she would stand again but she seems to not want to put pressure on her left leg. I felt around her legs but didn't find anything abnormal. Also checked bottom of foot to see if she might have something stuck there but nothing. Checked for egg bound but nothing is there. Felt crop and thats good too. She is eating and drinking but not much. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Not sure what to do for her and don't want to see her die. Thanks!

 

[CMV]

Ruffled up, lethargic, young birds always make me think "cocci". I would get some Corid and do a course of it. Corid will not affect meat or egg quality.

 

[siblechick]

She's not lethargic. She just can't stand up without losing her balance. She does try to stand but sit's back down right away. She will eat and drink from your hand. Poop is normal. Toes are curled when sitting and left foot seems to be turned inward a little bit. Not much. Sometime's when she is laying down her wings are spread out to the sides. Not sure if that is to keep her balance or not?

 

[CMV]

Any history of Marek's in the flock?

 

[siblechick]

No

 

[siblechick]

Someone else posted awhile ago about a "Week Legged Rooster" and it sounds just like the problem we are having with our little girl.

 

[MrsBachbach]

She's not lethargic. She just can't stand up without losing her balance. She does try to stand but sit's back down right away. She will eat and drink from your hand. Poop is normal. Toes are curled when sitting and left foot seems to be turned inward a little bit. Not much. Sometime's when she is laying down her wings are spread out to the sides. Not sure if that is to keep her balance or not?

Vitamin/mineral deficiency I would suspect first. Try a high potency vit/min supplement in their water. I suggest something called Avian Superpack. http://www.randallburkey.com/avian-super-pack-asp-4-oz.html. It may take several weeks to see improvement. I have found some feeds are sold expired in places in my area. They lose nutrients quickly after expiration. Since I learned of this I have paid more attention to the manufacture date on the feed bags and am shocked at how many are past the three month date. Of course it may not be the feed but could be the bird is just not eating as well as it should be. Or it is more susceptible to imbalances in feed/nutrition.
I'm still experimenting, but I have a young rooster doing pretty much the same and he's been on extra supplements for several weeks, but I gave him a 1/4 tablet of a magnesium pill the other day and the next day he was up walking around. Still limpy, but was actually up and around the next day. Something he wasn't doing during the previous week. May just be coincidence, still to early to tell, but it was a pleasant surprise to see him up and around instead of laying around most of the day.

Btw, the curled toe does sound like she is suffering from a deficiency. Look up vitamin deficiencies here: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/

Mareks is always a possibility, but I would try the vit/min therapy first. Make sure she is still drinking.

 

[siblechick]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm going to try the vitamins first. She seems to have perked up some since we brought her in and set food and water in front of her so she could eat and drink. She did stand up this morning a little bit. I will continue to keep her isolated until we see if its just a vitamin deficiency. Thanks again!

 

[siblechick]

Update: I started her on the vitamins 2 days ago. We have some improvement. Standing and walking a little more. How long does it usually take for the vitamins to get through the system to see a big improvement? I still have her isolated from the flock and hate to see her alone. I do get her out in the yard and let her walk around and eat grass and bugs but when I tried to give her a worm she would not eat it. I thought that was strange because my other girls love them!

 

[MrsBachbach]

Update: I started her on the vitamins 2 days ago. We have some improvement. Standing and walking a little more. How long does it usually take for the vitamins to get through the system to see a big improvement? I still have her isolated from the flock and hate to see her alone. I do get her out in the yard and let her walk around and eat grass and bugs but when I tried to give her a worm she would not eat it. I thought that was strange because my other girls love them!

Worms can carry some diseases that can kill a chicken. I was surprised to learn that. So, if my chicken refuses earthworms, so much the better. Try some scrambled egg with her.

It can take several weeks to see real improvement. Some vitamins are not stored in the body so a constant supply is needed. I saw immediate improvement with my young male after giving him a quarter tablet of a magnesium pill. But if she has lost weight along with the lameness, it might be best to keep her to her own pen until her strength returns. If you have a small cage, like a dog pen, you may be able to add her back to the flock but keep her in the cage. That way she isn't a stranger to the flock when she returns and doesn't have to go through the stress of the pecking order all over again. So, it is best to return her, but, if she is not being allowed to eat by others, best to have her to her own cage awhile.
If it is a lack of vitamin/minerals it would be best to look for the cause. Was it the feed or was she at the bottom of pecking order and not getting enough nutrition? I've seen birds at the bottom of pecking order not go to the feeders because they get pecked and chased. They tend to wander around the yard eating off the ground. Eating dirt or spilled feed. I've noticed they will not eat if the others aren't eating and when the others eat, they walk around pecking the ground. That could be your problem. My young male was penned with a dominant male and I'm not sure he was eating all the time. It's hard to change the pecking order unless some at the top disappear and new ones are added. So, you could try adding a couple of more feeders and maybe she will take to a new feeder. In the meantime, if it is the feed, it will certainly help all your chickens if you keep a vit/min supplement in their water a few times a week.