Mystery symptoms - advice needed

[lmphoto]

Hi all,

I have been searching the boards/internet, and talking to knowledgeable chicken friends for a few days now with no help, and before I pay the exhorbitant price for a rural vet to come out to me I thought I'd try posting here. I have a sick hen and cannot seem to figure out what is wrong. Here are the symptoms:

She is a one year old australorpe. Starting about five days ago I noticed her comb was pale and greyish, she was puffing up her feathers like she was cold and holding her wings low on her body. She was free-ranging and walking the property with the rest of the flock but moving slowly. The next day she had one foot curled up underneath her and so could not move around well, the rest of the symptoms still the same, so I isolated her. The third day both feet now curled up under her. Her comb looks a little better in color, and she seems alert, but still puffed up, wings still low, and feet curled up and cannot walk. She IS eating and drinking normally, in fact maybe eating a bit voraciously. I don't see any sings of wounds, mites, or swelling on her feet, and if I put my finger under them she will grab the finger and curl around it, but she cannot stand up. Although her butt is dirty from poop since she can't stand up, I don't see any signs of worms externally, and her poop looks normal. I don't feel any signs of her being egg-bound.

Any thoughts? I did giver her Wazine in her water this morning in case of worms, but it really doesn't seem like that to me.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Lori

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Hi Lori - Not being able to walk might suggest neurological issues, like Marek's. Here is a link with symptoms: http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/m/mareks_disease/symptoms.htm#symptom_list

Here is a link on this site that suggests a cure: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/135247/mareks-disease

Is she thin? Can you check her keel bone? My other thought would be cancer.

 

[lmphoto]

Thanks Enchanted, I'm going to check those links out now. I've seen other stuff on Marek's and the leg position in the photos I saw looked different, but I'll look again now.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i know, it's usually one leg back, not both curled up. i've read that fungal infections can cause neurological issues. Could she have gotten into any moldy feed? Or are there damp areas in the coop?

 

[lmphoto]

Hmmmm ... not sure the signs of Marek apply. She has a couple of the symptoms but not a lot of them. And the photos I see of Marek's seems to show the leg splayed out in front, which she doesn't have (hers are curled beneath her). It's just so hard to tell. She doesn't really seem thin to me either. I'm so confused.

 

[lmphoto]

Hmmmm... it could possibly be fungal I suppose. I live in the Northeast and it is definitely damp, although the coop is pretty well ventilated. They do free-range and get into areas of damp rotting vegetation at times, and sometimes get into our compost pile. Their feed is definitely not moldy though.

 

[dawg53]

Sounds like she is eggbound. Place her in a container of warm water up to her sides. Gently massage her underside front to rear for about 20 minutes. Put on a disposable glove and put olive oil on it and insert 1 finger in her vent feeling for any obstructions. Remove your finger and put a little olive oil in and around her vent.
The warm water will expand her innards, massaging will help move the egg along. Finger in vent stretches it and the olive oil lubricates it making it easier for her to hopefully lay the egg. Good luck.