Mysterious illness

[TMG]

I have a hen who is around 6-7 years old. We've had her for 2 years and the woman who we got her from said she was around 5. Anyway, back in October, she started sitting down on occasion like she was tired. She would still eat and move around but sit more than she should. We took her to the vet. They did x-rays and bloodwork. x-rays were fine and the bloodwork was inconclusive of anything specific. The vet put her on 2 rounds of antibiotics and she fully recovered. All was well for a month when all of a sudden she sat down and would not get up for anything. She wouldn't eat or drink. Back to the vet. They did bloodwork again and it came back as a possible infection. The reason they did not know for sure if it was an infection or not was because the lab did the wrong test so I had to take her back in after being on antibiotics for many days for the bloodwork to be redone. Anyway, after antibiotics, she just didn't seem to be getting better so we took her back to the vet again. She was showing signs of lethargy and when picked up and sat down her one toe on her one foot would curl under. Based on these observations the vet diagnosed her with Mareks disease. She told us we should put her down. It's our daughter's hen and she wasn't with us so we chose to make an appointment with our local vet to put her down so our daughter could be present as she would want to be. On the way home as we discussed this diagnosis it just didn't sit well with me for whatever reason. I truly felt it wasn't that so instead of opting to put her down we decided to give her a little bit more time. We started to give her a very high-end food and mineral supplements in her water daily. Over the next 7 weeks or so she began to improve. Her comb became red again, she began to lay eggs again, she was making all the chicken noises, alert, eating and drinking and preening herself but she would not get up. She would move very little and when she did it was a scoot. So we have been catering to her and allowing her to be as she seems to be happy. To my surprise, in this last week, she began to stand 80% of the day and in the last 2 days, she has even walked the length of her safety kennel from one end to the other. Now, this isn't an easy feat as she has to clear a center bar in the center. She will even get completely into her food bowl to sit in it. Her toe is no longer curling under and she has gained strength. She won't walk around a lot just the length of the kennel which is a decent length. When she does stand she is really sloped. Her tail feathers are to the ground but she stands this way. I've noticed when she does walk she has a slight limp but she has not had any accidents to become injured that we are aware of. I am reaching out as I've already spent $900 at the vet and clearly they don't really know what's going on with her. It's strange, to say the least and was curious if anyone else has gone through something similar and could shed light on what it might be. Thank you so much for reading this.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a hen who is around 6-7 years old.

When she does stand she is really sloped. Her tail feathers are to the ground but she stands this way. I've noticed when she does walk she has a slight limp

I'm sorry about your hen.

Is she laying eggs now?
Have you felt her abdomen (below the vent between the legs) for swelling, bloat or fluid?

At her age and some of the symptoms you describe, I would be inclined to say she's having some reproductive issues. It's not uncommon for older hens to have problems with Cancer, Egg Yolk Peritonitis, tumors, etc. Symptoms include - weight loss in the breast, difficulty walking, labored breathing, swelling or fluid in the abdomen, lose dropping, loss of appetite, etc.
Sometimes an egg laid internally or a mass can press upon the nerves causing limping.
The tail down, I've found usually is a "classic" symptom of reproductive problems - it could be something else, but for the most part that is what I have observed with mine.

Marek's can show up at any time and at any age, but the only way to know for sure would be through necropsy if you happen to lose her. Examination of the nerves and internal organs is needed. That said, with her age - I would still lean toward reproductive issues.

For mine that have problems - I try to baby them along - if they are eating/drinking, fairly active, participate with the flock, etc. then I just monitor them. I do check them for lice/mites, make sure they are wormed and that their crop is emptying. Once they start to decline and I can't get them to rally in a short period of time, then I put them out of their misery.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry that you have been going thorugh so much with your hen. I would suspect one of the reproductive disorders that we see in older hens. Usually Mareks affects hens earlier in life, although any hen can get it when suddenly exposed to a new chicken who is a carrier. I would keep up the diet and vitamins that you have been doing, and let her do what she feels like doing. It sounds like you have a handle on this.

 

[JillD413]

so sorry you have been faced with such chicken troubles. I hope she gets better.

 

[Waves]

I agree about the importance of feeling of her abdomen
How are her poops?

I'm very sorry you're dealing with this