My poor chicken -- please help!

[susanorlean]

Hi everyone, my lovely 1 1/2 year old chicken is sick and my vet can't seem to figure it out. So any help would be very welcome. Here's the story: this winter, she lost a lot of feathers (weird timing to molt, isn't it?). Then she grew her feathers back and seemed fine. Then about a month ago, I noticed that she was sitting around a lot (she's not laying any eggs, since this winter) and I finally realized that she can't walk or stand up -- and she is now very thin because she hadn't been able to get to her food. Now I'm hand-feeding her and she is eating, but she can't stand up; if I get her to stand, she wobbles and collapses. She's not sneezing, coughing, showing any signs of having injured a leg or been wounded in any way. My vet had me first give her amoxicillin, then steroids, and nothing has made any difference at all.
Is this Marek's disease, maybe? I heard of it for the first time today; my vet hadn't mentioned it. If it might be -- now what? Can she recover? Can it spread to my other bird (I only have 2 chickens right now; the other one is healthy, running around, laying, etc.)
And if she can't recover, what do I do? Do I take her to my vet to be euthanized?
Thanks to anyone who can offer a little help. I feel really sad seeing her so weak and unable to function -- and I'm so puzzled by her symptoms.

 

[Wooden_Pony]

Is her comb pale?

Another thing is does she have a dirty bum, dirty with dried poo?

Has your vet done a fecal slide on her?


I would ask her to do one on your hen to have her checked for round worms. They can cause similar symptoms if the infestation is a bad one.

Good luck... wish I could help more.

 

[sammi]

yep...have the vet do a worm and cocci test..
quick.
I really think this is a nutrition issue...something not right in the diet..or something causing depletion..such as worms..

in the meantime..
do you have poultry vitamins?
what all do you feed?
describe the droppings..color and consistency
check the crop to make sure it isn't impacted.
check for mites..
what bedding do you use?

try and make up this mix..it will help her.

this is for 3 feeds for 1 day..give this mix for 5 days.
give along with regular feed..

1 cooked egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon honey or unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
3-4 tablespoons water soaked/softened oatmeal
layer feed enough to make mix puffy, not soupy or gummy.

if you don't have poultry vitamins..get some Poly-vi-sol liquid baby vitamins, Enfamil brand, no iron..give 3 drops on beak once a day for a week, taper off for another week.

give the hen a good check over for any injury, swelling or heat.
check the legs for raised scales or crust.
check bottoms of feet and between toes for sores, swelling, scabs or heat..
you say you only have 2 chickens NOW..
did you have others? were they sick?

sorry to ask so many questions, but need info to help you.

 

[susanorlean]

Hi, and thanks for your help. To answer your questions:
I had four chickens; two killed by neighbor's dogs...
My vet did a worm check, which was negative. Her crop is fine, too.
She seems paralyzed... or at least that it's a nervous system problem. She eats well, when I give her food, but she hasn't been able to walk for almost a month now. All the symptoms look like what I've read about Marek's -- her balance is gone, she won't support her weight. It's really very sad. She's very dirty now, because she can't stand up when she poops.
The other chicken seemed very healthy, but yesterday one of her eyes was shut and looked peculiar. This is apparently another Marek's symptom, so I'm feeling more and more convinced that it is Marek's. I doubt I can help them.
I am getting some new chickens this week and I am very worried about them getting infected. Do you vaccinate your chickens for Marek's? I know it's very contagious so I will be cleaning everything I can but I'm worried! Any thoughts?
Thanks again --

 

[TeresaT]

Hi, I am no expert on chickens yet, still learning, but did you check for mites? One of my hens died last year and I am certain it was due to mites/lice. Her comb was pale, she could hardly walk and was very limp. By the time I realized what it was, she had died. She was very skinny too. Check around her neck, by her back, under her feathers to see if you see any tiny bugs, or eggs around the base of the feathers. Also, check the vent area and under the wings. If it is mites, you need to dust her with some sevin dust quickly. Lift up her feathers and sprinkle it on her all over (try not to get it in her eyes or nose). Rub it with your fingers all over her. I have no expertise in Mareks so I can not advise there either. Good Luck.

 

[dlhunicorn]

I will guess that it is this instead of Mareks (Mareks typically presents with one leg in front and one in back and is not so common in older birds) > I would be more inclined to think it dietary and associated with her molt > molt can be very hard on a bird and throw their whole system out of whack (particularly if the bird was borderline deficient or having malabsorption issues before the onset of molt) . Please read the following articles:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/109/osteoporosis-cage-fatigue

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/205806.htm
(MERCK Veterinary Manual)

This articles explains the importance of the correct ratio of calcium to phosphorous to vit D3 (important as molt will often leave the bird with malabsorption issues which means it is unable to properly absorb the nutrients from its feed and disproportionate ratios can sometimes be devastating as this article explains):
http://merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/202400.htm

If it were me I would give a good balanced daily formulated supplement like AviaCharge 2000 (available online from McMurry) ... give four drops of Polyvisol enfamil formulation (not the one with the extra iron) once a day for a week then taper off the next (This will deal with any A B or D3 deficiency > you need to give in addition to the avia charge) ... and a live culture yogurt free choice (daily) and a good quality layer feed. You can add a tsp of wheatgermoil to thru that too.

ETA: It is crucial of course that the feeding and watering dish be placed close enough to her so she can reach it without stressing herself out.