Loss of balance, not eating

[chickenbaguette]

I have a 5-6ish year old Wyandotte hen. About a week ago she seemed to lose her voice - making quiet wheezy noises instead of usual chirps (but not actually wheezing).

Now she's walking very slowly as if her legs are giving out. Doesn't eat but touches her beak to the food as if she can't quite reach it, however close it is. Can't seem to actually peck anything. This morning she fell over once, as if one of her legs had just stopped working, but got up again. She walks as if it's painful, but there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her legs.

Otherwise, her eyes are bright, comb red and feathers shiny. She had leg mites briefly in the past but has always been very healthy with no other problems.

I don't know if she was vaccinated against Marek's disease.
Could whatever this is be caused by bad food? The shed where the layers' pellets are kept has been dampish recently.

Help!

 

[chickenbaguette]

Help, please!

 

[missnu01]

Well if she is 5-6 years old it probably isn't Marek's. Symptomatic Marek's usually affects birds under 5 months...but an earlier exposure to Marek's can make a seemingly healthy adult bird drop dead for no apparent reason. Have you thoroughly checked her over? Look in her beak, feel her crop and stomach all that jazz, and see if you can find any lumps, bumps or abrasions. Then get back to us.

 

[chickenbaguette]

Thanks for your reply, I've just been out to check her. No lumps, vent area is fine + clean, no nasal discharge, breath smells fine, feet and legs perfect. Couldn't feel any evidence of mites but couldn't see because it's dark and I didn't want to blind her with my torch. The only thing was her crop is quite empty since she hasn't eaten much today.

 

[chickenbaguette]

Forgot to mention, she was trying to cluck as I picked her up but just made a louder wheezy sound. Something to do with her throat? But that couldn't cause a balance problem could it? She's perching fine though, it's not bad at the moment.

 

[chickenbaguette]

I didn't look at her ears, that was stupid. Could be blocked ears.

 

[missnu01]

Wheezing is never good. And there are a lot of reasons that a chicken will wheeze... Gape worm, respiratory infections, bronchitis sinusitis... So on and so forth