Maybe it's Botulism? *UPDATED - I think she's feeling better!

[Country Gal]

Well, I just talked to the vet. She says it's probably not botulism - she usually only sees botulism during really dry spells, so she saw some earlier this summer, but not recently with the rain that we've been getting the past few weeks. She suggested I stop at TSC and get some tetracycline - anyone have experience with this medication??? She says that it's pretty much the chicken cure-all.

 

[hinkjc]

I have some questions that may help you get more answers. How old is the hen? What is she eating on a regular basis (feed)? I am thinking she has a thiamine deficiency causing the neurological symptoms.

I would not think an antibiotic is appropriate for this condition, but I'm also not a vet. I would suggest trying a vitamin supplement (like PolyviSol baby vitamins) in the water and give it several weeks to see the difference. That is from personal experience with stargazer I had on a mature pullet, who made a fulll recovery.

I would also mention that if you breed or hatch eggs, don't do that with her (as this is likely a genetic defect that you wouldn't want to pass on to offspring - keep her as a pet only).

Jody

 

[Country Gal]

Hinkjc - the hen is 22 weeks old. They eat layer feed and oyster shell free choice. They free range in the evenings when I get home from work and usually all day on Saturdays and Sundays.

How do I administer the baby vitamins?

Thanks for the response!

 

[PoultryDune]

I lost a hen to botulism and the symptoms were much more dramatic. No neck twisting. She stopped eating and drinking and died within three days. The neck twisting sounds like something she ate is stuck.

 

[ruth]

I'm convinced, after going through the experience with Ruth and after reading so many posts on this site about chickens with twisted neck, that it is a vitamin deficiency and/or protein deficiency. Ever since Ruth was 4 weeks old and nearly died from twisted neck, I have been feeding all chicks shredded cheese, black oil sunflower seeds and dry cat food daily in addition to their chick feed and the fact that they free range over several acres of woods all day. Many people say "free range" and mean they run free over a small backyard that was probably picked clean of most bugs the first week. If that is the case, your chicks are probably not getting the bugs and grubs you might think and as such are not getting the meat protein source they need. The dry chick feed has little or no meat protein source in it's list of ingredients. In Ruth's case I also feed her a vitamin E capsule daily and dropped a drop of liquid bird vitamins that I bought at the pet shop - intended to be mixed with water but I would just drop a drop on the side of her beak. I understand there is something called Avia Charge or something like that that is an all around nutritional supplement for chicks but it has to be ordered. Liquid baby vitamins works also.

Try making sure she is eating and feed her canned cat food or wet down dry cat food for awhile and see if she recovers and keep us posted. I'm keeping track of these cases as a sort of theory that dry chick feed alone is not sufficient for all chicks - works for most but then many are suffering nutritional deficiencies.

 

[Country Gal]

Thanks Ruth! I live on 5 acres, at least 2 acres are wooded, so I'm pretty sure there's quite a bit of bugs out there for them. I did pick up some liquid baby vitamins today, so I'm going to start giving her that when I get home. I'm going to go ahead and try the tetracycline as well, along with the cat food.

Hopefully I'll see some (even just a smidgen!) improvement before I leave for TN. (just a little bit to give me hope!)

I will keep you all posted...

 

[Country Gal]

Well, at I used my lunch hour at work today to go to Walmart and get liquid baby vitamins. I stopped at TSC on my way home to pick up tetracycline. I had asked the vet this morning about Botulism (which she ruled out) and asked her if I should discard whatever eggs she lays - she told me that it would be highly unlikely that she would lay while sick.

I get home from work - my hen is perky, waltzing around the "isolation crate" and there's a freaking egg sitting there! Her neck still has a very slight twist to it, but it definitely seems like she's on the road to recovery from whatever her problem was. I'm still going to admin the vitamins and tetracycline to error on the safe side.

I called the vet back and told her about the egg - she said that it was definitely a good sign.

Yay!