My hen can’t walk!

[rebrascora]

Yes, it is so easy to stress about these things and you getting stressed and trying to make her drink can stress her.... I went through that in the early stages of Marek's trying to treat birds with Turmeric and St John's Wort and would get so frustrated trying to make them eat their food with the treatment in it, which they got sick of it after the first few days. Then I realised that it is more important to keep them happy and eating than to try to medicate them, so now I will give them lots of nutritious treats and enjoy seeing them wolf them down and not worry about trying to medicate them with something they dislike. It works out better all round because keeping them happy with Marek's seems to be the best therapy.

I had one a few months ago that started hobbling and wobbling and lost confidence in the flock. She went a few weeks and was starting to get picked on and was deteriorating. A few times I saw the other girls chasing her and her losing balance and floundering. I started allowing her to free range around the coop and pen in the garden during the day and putting her in the coop at night. She loved having that "special" freedom and more room to move around without being hassled by the others and access to grass. She would come running/hobbling/wing walking when I went into the garden and after a few weeks of free ranging like that the hobbling slowly disappeared and she was back to normal and actually sassy enough to start throwing her weight around when I put her back in the pen. It was a calculated risk because there was a chance a predator would get her but I was preparing myself to euthanize her anyway, so really she had nothing to lose and everything to gain. She is just starting to come back into lay now and I'm so pleased I took a more chilled approach.

I'm delighted to hear that your girl is looking brighter. I'm pretty confident you will be right about improvement, rather than just imagining it. I find intuition is really quite relevant with Marek's. I had one a few years ago that went months with supportive care and there were a few times when I put a time scale on euthanizing her only to reach the target date and set it back because she still had bright eyes and a will to live, despite being nest bound for so long. It was her second attack of Marek's and it took 4 months for her to recuperate to the point that she could free range again with the flock and although she never totally lost her limp, she was happy and had a good quality of life and laid eggs and roosted just like any other flock member on the highest roost.
I hope your girl makes a similar recovery. It does your heart good to see it.

 

[The Golden Egg5]

Yes, it is so easy to stress about these things and you getting stressed and trying to make her drink can stress her.... I went through that in the early stages of Marek's trying to treat birds with Turmeric and St John's Wort and would get so frustrated trying to make them eat their food with the treatment in it, which they got sick of it after the first few days. Then I realised that it is more important to keep them happy and eating than to try to medicate them, so now I will give them lots of nutritious treats and enjoy seeing them wolf them down and not worry about trying to medicate them with something they dislike. It works out better all round because keeping them happy with Marek's seems to be the best therapy.

I had one a few months ago that started hobbling and wobbling and lost confidence in the flock. She went a few weeks and was starting to get picked on and was deteriorating. A few times I saw the other girls chasing her and her losing balance and floundering. I started allowing her to free range around the coop and pen in the garden during the day and putting her in the coop at night. She loved having that "special" freedom and more room to move around without being hassled by the others and access to grass. She would come running/hobbling/wing walking when I went into the garden and after a few weeks of free ranging like that the hobbling slowly disappeared and she was back to normal and actually sassy enough to start throwing her weight around when I put her back in the pen. It was a calculated risk because there was a chance a predator would get her but I was preparing myself to euthanize her anyway, so really she had nothing to lose and everything to gain. She is just starting to come back into lay now and I'm so pleased I took a more chilled approach.

I'm delighted to hear that your girl is looking brighter. I'm pretty confident you will be right about improvement, rather than just imagining it. I find intuition is really quite relevant with Marek's. I had one a few years ago that went months with supportive care and there were a few times when I put a time scale on euthanizing her only to reach the target date and set it back because she still had bright eyes and a will to live, despite being nest bound for so long. It was her second attack of Marek's and it took 4 months for her to recuperate to the point that she could free range again with the flock and although she never totally lost her limp, she was happy and had a good quality of life and laid eggs and roosted just like any other flock member on the highest roost.
I hope your girl makes a similar recovery. It does your heart good to see it.

For some reason I didn’t get a notification about this post

Anyways, yes, I think keeping them stress free is the best way to help them get better. I’m really glad your girl is getting better. I really hope she improves like yours does! That would be so uplifting. The day after I took Einstein into the house, reality hit me and I was actually thinking about having to give up my chickens. That would have been devastating because I had been waiting for years to get them. I haven’t had them quite a year. I know they get sick, but I already lost 2 of my favorites to a fox and I would really love to not lose any more lol.
On another note, she is definitely improving. I took a video of attempt #1 of getting her to walk. I think it went well.

 

[rebrascora]

Yes that is exactly the way to do it! Well done to you both! Try to extend the distance a little each day and make sure she is on a surface with good traction to make it as easy as possible for her....preferably no slippy floors.... and don't be too keen to give in and give her anything until she makes an effort and takes a step... only reward effort, if that makes sense! I know it may seem cruel but she needs to learn to coordinate her limbs again and that only comes with focussed movement. Physiotherapy is not supposed to be pretty or easy, but it is an important part of recovery.
When the weather allows, take her outside to do it, maybe next to the run where your other chickens are, so they can see each other and maybe even be a little jealous of her treats.....that will improve her confidence and status....because in her eyes, she is getting first dibs on the goodies, even though they don't stand a chance because they are behind wire.
It may help if you have a bright coloured bowl that you put the treat in, so that she associates that bowl with the treat and moves towards the bowl as that will help her focus more, particularly when you are working over longer distance when she may not be able to see the treat.

I hope that all makes sense.

 

[The Golden Egg5]

Yes that is exactly the way to do it! Well done to you both! Try to extend the distance a little each day and make sure she is on a surface with good traction to make it as easy as possible for her....preferably no slippy floors.... and don't be too keen to give in and give her anything until she makes an effort and takes a step... only reward effort, if that makes sense! I know it may seem cruel but she needs to learn to coordinate her limbs again and that only comes with focussed movement. Physiotherapy is not supposed to be pretty or easy, but it is an important part of recovery.
When the weather allows, take her outside to do it, maybe next to the run where your other chickens are, so they can see each other and maybe even be a little jealous of her treats.....that will improve her confidence and status....because in her eyes, she is getting first dibs on the goodies, even though they don't stand a chance because they are behind wire.
It may help if you have a bright coloured bowl that you put the treat in, so that she associates that bowl with the treat and moves towards the bowl as that will help her focus more, particularly when you are working over longer distance when she may not be able to see the treat.

I hope that all makes sense.

It definitely makes sense. I don’t know the next time that I can take her outside because it is going to be rainy and snowy for the whole week. Mabye next week sometime it will be good weather.

 

[SimplyLivinthatFarmLife]

I'm afraid that looks and sounds very much like Marek's to me. She is within the vulnerable age group and adding the new chicks may have been the trigger. Where did you get her from? Do you know if she was vaccinated for Marek's as a newly hatched chick?
All you can do is keep her well fed and watered and as stress free as possible. A good poultry supplement like Nutri Drench will help to support her immune system and help her fight the virus. If you get a nice warm, sunny day and can put her outside for a bit on some grass (perhaps in a cage) within sight of the others that may help, but otherwise keeping her warm well fed and comfortable is the best you can do.
If it is Marek's she will be a carrier for life and prone to other attacks if she survives this one, but I have had some birds that have gone over a year between attacks and had a very good quality of life in between. If she loses interest in food then I usually euthanize at that point as they go downhill pretty rapidly after that in my experience.
Good luck with her and the rest of your flock.... Marek's is contagious.... the virus spreads via dander dust from an infected bird which is inhaled into the respiratory system to infect others. It then lies dormant until something triggers an attack.... similar to the cold sore virus in humans, so you can't tell who carries the virus until they have an outbreak.... in fact they are both caused by a Herpes virus.
I'm sorry to suggest such a horrible diagnosis but it is better to be prepared for the worst and it perhaps not be so bad. Marek's is such a common and widespread disease that it is the most likely cause of such symptoms, particularly in a bird of this age.

I had two hens die within 2-3 months of each other from Marek's. Hope your girl will be okay.

 

[SimplyLivinthatFarmLife]

Great idea!!
View attachment 1247328

Love it!

 

[The Golden Egg5]

I had two hens die within 2-3 months of each other from Marek's. Hope your girl will be okay.

I am so sorry for your loss.
Thank you

 

[SA&P]

Just checking in to see how you’re doing!
Well, that’s just the sweetest thing! Delighted she’s feeling better...you’re doing a great job.
Haha, she almost looked as if she was smiling

 

[arkansas_ash]

Howdy The Golden Eggs5,

So sorry to read about the distressing situation you are going through with your pretty girl. I too thought Marek's at first, and then nutritional deficiency like rickets. Some chickens don't die from Marek's as the poster wrote at the below link, but get better eventually. Other chickens can get rickets. One of the most important things a chick raiser can do is allow their babies a bit of daily sunshine during their first week or week plus of age so they can get the much needed Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin. It can help prevent leg problems later on. I do this with all chicks I raise making sure they have a wind break to protect them and food and water while outside for their 15 to 20 minutes of sunshine.

Here's a very informative link you might be interested in:

Well, I could not post it. Do a search here at Backyard Chickens for
Please Help - Found Chicken Lying on its Side, Will not/Cannot Walk
from 2010 for some helpful information.

 

[The Golden Egg5]

Howdy The Golden Eggs5,

So sorry to read about the distressing situation you are going through with your pretty girl. I too thought Marek's at first, and then nutritional deficiency like rickets. Some chickens don't die from Marek's as the poster wrote at the below link, but get better eventually. Other chickens can get rickets. One of the most important things a chick raiser can do is allow their babies a bit of daily sunshine during their first week or week plus of age so they can get the much needed Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin. It can help prevent leg problems later on. I do this with all chicks I raise making sure they have a wind break to protect them and food and water while outside for their 15 to 20 minutes of sunshine.

Here's a very informative link you might be interested in:

Well, I could not post it. Do a search here at Backyard Chickens for
Please Help - Found Chicken Lying on its Side, Will not/Cannot Walk
from 2010 for some helpful information.

Thank you.
It could actually be rickets because when she was a baby, she stayed inside for a while before ever going outside. She is on nutridrench now and she gets eggs almost every day. Egg yolks are high in vit. D.

Just checking in to see how you’re doing!
Well, that’s just the sweetest thing! Delighted she’s feeling better...you’re doing a great job.
Haha, she almost looked as if she was smiling

Hey!
She is doing good this morning. Thanks for helping us along in getting better!

It’s supposed to snow a few inches tonight, so it could be a while before she can go outside. It is also supposed to snow on friday.