My Hen Can't Stand Up or Eat

[VeganForTheAnimals]

I have had three pullets recently with these symptoms. I made a chicken wheel chair for them. It's a cardboard box with leg holes toward the front with a poop hole close behind them. I even managed to put oatmeal carton wheels on it. The chicken is supported in a sort of sitting/standing position so they can eat and drink on their own. I'll try to find a few photos.

Two out of the three pullets have died from this. One is at the state lab right now getting necropsied and her tissues scoped for what might have killed her. No results back yet. I've been trying to treat this for seven months. The one at the lab revovered completely twice before coming down with the intense symptoms that finally finished her off.

A third pullet is recovering and getting around okay with one gimpy leg, but she manages to get into the coop and into a nest box to lay her eggs.

So far, it's been determined that lymphoma is involved in my pullets' case. But it hasn't got a name yet. I've been calling it "May's Syndrome" after the pullet who's been battling the disorder the longest.

I am so sorry for your losses!! I know how it feels to lose them When you get those results back from the lab, would you mind letting me know what it is? I hope your third pullet continues to recover!!

 

[VeganForTheAnimals]

Try offering moistened chicken feed, scrambled bits of egg, tuna, or canned cat food in moderation. Chicken feed is the best. Water her often. It would not hurt to crush some vitamin B complex 1/4 tablet daily and put it in a spoonful of water or her food. Here is a video of a chicken sling chair:

Thank you so much! I will try this!

 

[azygous]

This is what I just found out about my pullet from the pathology lab.

Just got through with a long conversation with Dr Niles. The short of it is, it's leaning toward being the leucosis virus, a tumor causing avian virus.

The long story is June, my nine-month old Blue Australorp, was a mess. She had tumors on organs, she had salpingitis, she had an inflamed brain, she had an inflamed shell gland, fat deposits everywhere unlike the first pullet Jules who had no fatty deposits or tumors I could see.

But Jules may have had mostly her brain affected by lymphoma as did June. The brain cancer likely was responsible for the lameness.

We discussed the puzzling occurrence and remission of symptoms, especially May's amazing recovery. This is not how things usually go. A bird gets symptomatic and goes pretty much down the chute to acute illness in a pretty steady fashion.

Dr Niles is curious as am I about this facet of this disorder. He's going to converse with the pathologists to see if they can' tweak their lab tests to come up with something more definitive. Maybe by Friday we will have more information to hang our hats on.

As it stands, it may be Marek's, but it's more likely lymphoid leucosis.

If your hen dies, I strongly recommend you send her to a lab for necropsy to identify what she has. This could have consequences for the rest of your flock, and knowing what it is will help you be able to deal with it.

 

[VeganForTheAnimals]

This is what I just found out about my pullet from the pathology lab.

Just got through with a long conversation with Dr Niles. The short of it is, it's leaning toward being the leucosis virus, a tumor causing avian virus.

The long story is June, my nine-month old Blue Australorp, was a mess. She had tumors on organs, she had salpingitis, she had an inflamed brain, she had an inflamed shell gland, fat deposits everywhere unlike the first pullet Jules who had no fatty deposits or tumors I could see.

But Jules may have had mostly her brain affected by lymphoma as did June. The brain cancer likely was responsible for the lameness.

We discussed the puzzling occurrence and remission of symptoms, especially May's amazing recovery. This is not how things usually go. A bird gets symptomatic and goes pretty much down the chute to acute illness in a pretty steady fashion.

Dr Niles is curious as am I about this facet of this disorder. He's going to converse with the pathologists to see if they can' tweak their lab tests to come up with something more definitive. Maybe by Friday we will have more information to hang our hats on.

As it stands, it may be Marek's, but it's more likely lymphoid leucosis.

If your hen dies, I strongly recommend you send her to a lab for necropsy to identify what she has. This could have consequences for the rest of your flock, and knowing what it is will help you be able to deal with it.

I'm so sorry again for what happened to them! I really appreciate you letting me know what the results were though. Do you know if there's any way to diagnose lymphoid leucosis before death? Like is there a way to test for it by taking a blood sample or something? My hen, Rudy, is currently still eating and drinking well but she still can't stand up. I don't see any tumors or anything else that is obviously wrong with her. If I were to find out Rudy has lymphoid leucosis, do you know if there is a treatment for it? Thank you so much! And I am really, really sorry about Jules and June.

 

[azygous]

Yes, there is a DNA test. It requires a blood sample using a $20 kit you send for from this place. Research Assciates Laboratory, 411 McDermott Dr STE B, Allen, TX 75002-2854 972-960-2221 www.vetdna.com The test is around $100.

They will test a blood sample for DNA for Marek's or leucosis virus. As far as I know, this is the only way to determine if a chicken has one of these specific avian viruses.

I didn't follow through because I wasn't able to find a way to get the sample to them in under 48 hours, beyond which the sample would degrade and be unusable. USPS takes a week and I don't have access to UPS or FedEx.

I did get a PCR test done on a throat swab for a respiratory disease, which came back negative. These folks will send you the testing materials and do the test. Zoologix Inc 9811 Owensmouth Ave, STE 4, Chatsworth, CA, 91311-9547 818-717-8880 www.zoologix.com This test is also around $100.

 

[VeganForTheAnimals]

Yes, there is a DNA test. It requires a blood sample using a $20 kit you send for from this place. Research Assciates Laboratory, 411 McDermott Dr STE B, Allen, TX 75002-2854 972-2221 www.vetdna.com The test is around $100.

They will test a blood sample for DNA for Marek's or leucosis virus. As far as I know, this is the only way to determine if a chicken has one of these specific avian viruses.

I didn't follow through because I wasn't able to find a way to get the sample to them in under 48 hours, beyond which the sample would degrade and be unusable. USPS takes a week and I don't have access to UPS or FedEx.

I did get a PCR test done on a throat swab for a respiratory disease, which came back negative. These folks will send you the testing materials and do the test. Zoologix Inc 9811 Owensmouth Ave, STE 4, Chatsworth, CA, 91311-9547 818-717-8880 www.zoologix.com This test is also around $100.

Thank you so, so much!

 

[azygous]

Good luck. Let us know how things turn out.

I had the phone number wrong for Research Ass. I fixed it. I had better luck phoning them than going online.