My chicken was acting weird and now can’t stand

[ChickenNugieuwu]

Hi, I hope whoever this reaches can help me understand my hen better! I’ve never had this happen and naturally, I investigated on Google, lots of sources lead me to Marek’s disease, which I’ve never even heard of up until now.

I’m really concerned, triple eve. The hen is my mother’s, but due to her bullying my silkies enough to not letting them eat, we separated her.

She has been fine with the change and was fine a couple days ago, yet one day when I let her out of her pen, I noticed she seemed to walk a bit oddly with a wing drooped down. I continued to take her outside and she seemed to be doing better, but a storm hit us and I had to refuge her from the wind and rain for 2-3 days. I then noticed she was laying on the floor with both of her legs back one day while doing my daily check up routine. She seemed to have gotten stuck. I lifted her up, but she would sit back down.

She is a three-four year old black hen. Unsure of her species, but she’s pretty meaty and is a gorgeous black. She leaves both her feet up front while sitting up. She moves her wings around hen she wants to position herself and has shown interest in drinking water and eating (I have to assist her on drinking water, but she can eat on her own just fine!). When I move her feet they extend and clutch naturally. I don’t notice any swelling, but when I touch her feet to feel for any lumps, she squawks in pain. Also when I try to help her support her weight she makes soft distressed and pained noises. She let’s out big black stinky puddle, almost like a sorta pudding, when pooping. When laying on her side, both legs are tucked in to her belly. Her comb is her usual bright red, her body always feels a natural warm.

My mom thinks it may be due to lack of sun that she’s gotten weak since her pen is a bit closed off from the sunlight. I estimate it has been around 8 days since I first saw her acting weird and having to put her away for the storm.

I gave her yolk today and she very enthusiastically ate it. It’s been three days since she can’t use her legs at all and I’ve been taking her out under the sun, often she eats and pecks little tiny rocks near her and I put food for her to eat as well. I’m worried it may be Marek’s due to her pen being near my silkies.

Just some moments ago I’ve put her in an old large bird cage with blankets inside to keep a better eye on her. My mom keeps insisting I don’t worry due to neither of us ever hearing about something like this (I live in Baja California). My only vet at my home town has never offered me to vaccinate my chickens either, in fact, I never knew it was a thing. I only have had them vaccinated to give them little boosts (example: when one of my silkies suffered a dog attack) until now that I’ve been making a throughout investigation. Although a lot of sites that give me Marek’s information contradict each other which leave me awfully worried and confused.


While I feel awful for her and I’ve been aiding her, I’d be devastated finding out my silkies are infected and will have to sacrifice them. They are all very dear to me and ever since my dog died from age a few weeks ago, I’ve been getting even more attached to my little ladies. I have a seven-eight year old silkie I’m very attached to as well.

Is there anyone who has experience with Marek’s that can let me know if my mother’s hen sounds like she has it? Is it possibly too late to do anything to help my silkies?

Adding some pictures of her sitting, laying down and her legs in general in hopes it helps!

 

[nuthatched]

I wouldn't jump to mareks disease right away, most animals don't like there feet touched and are silent in pain.
What is her diet? It's likely nutrition deficiency from the silkies nor letting her eat.
Have you ever wormed them?

 

[ChickenNugieuwu]

I wouldn't jump to mareks disease right away, most animals don't like there feet touched and are silent in pain.
What is her diet? It's likely nutrition deficiency from the silkies nor letting her eat.
Have you ever wormed them?

Thank you so much, this at least helps me ease my mind a bit!

I give them corn and another mix called “scratch”. Time to time I give them foods in the house we no longer need such as bread, Papaya, melon, apple (I remove the seeds), pear (also remove the seeds!), rice, tomatoes (only ripe ones! I know green ones are very toxic) and sometimes leftover beans. Along with other greens such as spinach, lettuce, broccoli. I also buy them little treats such as dry worms and dig around myself for live worms.

I’ve had to cut them off from letting them out DAILY due to our neighbors dog attacking my hens. But I do let them out at least one a week or two at the very least under supervision.

But going back to your original question, for the most part only dry corn and guavas (I have a guava tree). Idk if it’s the right translation of the fruit (Guayaba).

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Do you provide her with grit (crushed granite) to help with digestion?

Does she lay eggs, and when is the last time she laid an egg? How old is she?

Can you take her food and water away at bedtime and then feel her crop first thing in the morning before she has anything to eat or drink and tell us if it's empty? Also at bedtime please feel it and tell us how it feels. Is it squishy, doughy, hard, gritty, etc.?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She has been fine with the change and was fine a couple days ago, yet one day when I let her out of her pen, I noticed she seemed to walk a bit oddly with a wing drooped down. I continued to take her outside and she seemed to be doing better, but a storm hit us and I had to refuge her from the wind and rain for 2-3 days. I then noticed she was laying on the floor with both of her legs back one day while doing my daily check up routine. She seemed to have gotten stuck.

I don’t notice any swelling, but when I touch her feet to feel for any lumps, she squawks in pain. Also when I try to help her support her weight she makes soft distressed and pained noises.

I give them corn and another mix called “scratch”.

Can you inspect her for mites or lice on her body?

When was her last egg?

When you lift her up, she acts like she's in pain - can you inspect her legs, underneath her and her wings for any breaks?
Look at her skin around her legs/wings and underneath her for any purple or green bruising.

She does have what looks like Scaly Leg Mites. I notice she has BlueKote on one leg, so have you been treating her? I'd rub some vaseline, castor oil or Nu Stock cream into the legs and feet a couple of times a week, making sure to work the oil/cream up underneath the scales.

Where is she being kept? Is it a small cage or pen? Could she have injured herself trying to get out or when startled/stressed? You mention she had to be penned for a few days and seemed to have gotten stuck - so injury is possible??

If possible, feed her and the Silkies a nutritionally balanced poultry feed like Layer Feed, All Flock or even Chick Starter. Provide oyster shell free choice.
Scratch is mainly used a treat, it's low in protein and not a complete feed, neither is corn, so limit these drastically or eliminate them all together if possible.
A small amount of fruit or fresh veggies along with balanced feed would be better than giving a lot of scratch.

I'd work on her drinking really well, see if she will eat poultry feed for you. I'd also start her on vitamins to see if those help. I'd be inclined to give 1/2tablet B-Complex daily, you can find these at stores like Walmart, CVS, etc. on the vitamin aisle.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Is there any chance the dog could have gotten hold of her and hurt her? Have you looked her over very carefully to see if she has any injuries? Extend her wings out and look under them on her body.

 

[nuthatched]

Thank you so much, this at least helps me ease my mind a bit!

I give them corn and another mix called “scratch”. Time to time I give them foods in the house we no longer need such as bread, Papaya, melon, apple (I remove the seeds), pear (also remove the seeds!), rice, tomatoes (only ripe ones! I know green ones are very toxic) and sometimes leftover beans. Along with other greens such as spinach, lettuce, broccoli. I also buy them little treats such as dry worms and dig around myself for live worms.

I’ve had to cut them off from letting them out DAILY due to our neighbors dog attacking my hens. But I do let them out at least one a week or two at the very least under supervision.

But going back to your original question, for the most part only dry corn and guavas (I have a guava tree). Idk if it’s the right translation of the fruit (Guayaba).

Do they get any real chicken feed? This is actually a pretty poor diet. All carbs and sugar, low nutrition and protein.
I'd definitely get your birds on a all flock, flock raiser or chick feed. Cut out all the treats completely for a few months and start vitamin therapy for her.
One 400i.u vitamin E capsule and one third if a B complex tablet every day for a few weeks, any brand, from the grocery store. Pull down on her wattles and pop them into her beak.

 

[ChickenNugieuwu]

Do you provide her with grit (crushed granite) to help with digestion?

Does she lay eggs, and when is the last time she laid an egg? How old is she?

Can you take her food and water away at bedtime and then feel her crop first thing in the morning before she has anything to eat or drink and tell us if it's empty? Also at bedtime please feel it and tell us how it feels. Is it squishy, doughy, hard, gritty, etc.?

Hi, thank you for your response!

No, I don’t give them grit myself, usually they peck at grit stones when I let them lose though. It’s what she’s been doing when I let her down outside as well. She pecks at the small tiny rocks/grit around her while taking the sun.

I’d say she stopped laying eggs roughly a month or two. She started eating them after I moved her to her pen after a squirrel would get in to steal them. Once I blocked the squirrels entrance, she’d start eating them herself. After that she stopped laying. I’ve touched her stomach to feel if she has an egg stuck to cause her legs going weak, but it all feels empty. She used to be a very regular layer before the squirrel incident.

She’s about three-four years old.

Right now before putting her to bed, I felt her crop. It felt a bit squishy and gritty? I assume it’s the yolk, water, rock grit and food she got throughout the day. Today before I gave her water and set her down to take some sun I believe it felt gritty(?). I assumed it was the food she still had from the day before, but also pretty empty feeling aside from the corny like feeling.

 

[ChickenNugieuwu]

Is there any chance the dog could have gotten hold of her and hurt her? Have you looked her over very carefully to see if she has any injuries? Extend her wings out and look under them on her body.

I did, but the dog attack was months ago and she was on the side where the dog didn’t dig into. She only shows fear when any of our dogs get around her after said attack. She was unharmed during that event.

 

[ChickenNugieuwu]

Do they get any real chicken feed? This is actually a pretty poor diet. All carbs and sugar, low nutrition and protein.
I'd definitely get your birds on a all flock, flock raiser or chick feed. Cut out all the treats completely for a few months and start vitamin therapy for her.
One 400i.u vitamin E capsule and one third if a B complex tablet every day for a few weeks, any brand, from the grocery store. Pull down on her wattles and pop them into her beak.

Thank you! I honestly never heard about any of this. I’ll make sure to start implementing them a better diet! I hope the vitamins help her and this isn’t anything related to my main concern. Thank you so much once more!