Neurological chicken?

[quinaldey]

I have an 8-9 month old silver marans hen that was acting a little lethargic the day before we moved, but she was then moved in to a chicken heaven. Seemed like maybe she was limping, but no sign of bumblefoot etc. Figured maybe she pulled something in the move etc. Few days later, she was very wobbly, knuckling, not able to balance. Eats and drinks just fine when she is brought to it, and talks away with me, but has trouble righting herself and will stay on her side and sleep a lot. Its now been over 2 weeks, i have dewormed, given Tylan, tetracycling and even metacam (anti-inflammatory) to no avail. She is no better, no worse. All other birds seem totally fine. She is from a friend who breeds responsibly and none of her relatives have any issues. Before this, she was the least friendly to me and a bit of a bully, but fat and happy. Now losing weight. Hate to watch her waste away but wonder if she has a shot of pulling out of it with rest? Anyone else dealt with this? thanks

 

[CottonGinWaste]

Possibly Marek's? In which case she may recover if given support (I think there is a thread regarding survival of hen with Marek's disease r/t natural immunity of the flock). I had a Buff Orp that I thought had Marek's (which is how I discovered that thread) but it turned out she had a head injury from a hawk attack, with resulting hemiparesis, increasing difficulty walking. Unfortunately did not survive despite belated efforts on my part. Good luck.

 

[Eggcessive]

It' s possible that you had Mareks disease in your environment. Botulism and Mareks are the two neurological diseases I know about. Here is a reference on Mareks, and you can Google more: http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf

 

[Janet Pesaturo]

I've read so many descriptions of staggering/wobbly/unbalanced chickens, and have had it happen to a few of my own in the past. People often assume it is Marek's disease, but so often we never find out what it is. I had this happen to one bird last year. We put her down and got a necropsy, but they found no evidence of Marek's or any other disease. I know I've read on past threads that the same has happened to others: neurological symptoms, but nothing on necropsy.

 

[schnebbles]

I don't know but it sure is frustrating and upsetting. I lost one a month or so ago, sounds kind of like yours. Now my silkie is limping...she can move her leg, but her toes are like wet noodles. I'm very upset. fearing mareks.

 

[quinaldey]

Thanks everyone. Any idea how long it would take for botulism or Marek's to totally take over? Isn't it strange she's still hanging on after 2 weeks?

 

[schnebbles]

well, my bantam cochin was inside at least 2 weeks, maybe 2-1/2- I gave her a bath one night (she never got better - stayed about the same, but no worse) and I don't know if I caused too much stress but the next day she was very bad in the morning and died around supper time. She went really fast. I should have had a necropsy. I thought, well if it happens again, i'll know. Now I'm thinking it's happening and very scary and sad. I hope that's not what you have.

ETA: - I took her to vet and he didn't know for sure, he gave me antibiotics and steroids. Didn't really help though. I would suggest adding super-B complex to the water. I crushed pill/gallon (learned this on the mareks post), apparently super-B is best. I found some at walmart 88 cents for 10 pills. Seems highly recommended. I have my birds back on it.

 

[Eggcessive]

How is she doing? Here is another link on botulism: http://www.avianweb.com/botulism.html

 

[quinaldey]

She seems the same today. Still eating and drinking when I bring her to it. She is always in a new spot so she's moving somehow. Poor girl

 

[Janet Pesaturo]

Have you checked or treated her for mites? I know that seems too simple and obvious, but the one thing they found on necropsy of the hen I mentioned above, was feather mites. At the time I thought that the mites were a result, not a cause, of the imbalance, because she had stopped dust bathing in her final days. But maybe the mites were sapping the energy out of her, causing a nutritional deficiency, which then caused the staggering.

I also have another bird, now 3.5 years old, who developed subtle neurological symptoms 2 years ago. She would take a step or two backwards, or sort of stagger to the side, every now and then. It went on for at least a year before I added a supplement (Omega Ultra Egg). The symptoms mostly disappeared, but did not completely disappear until I treated for mites (applied a few drops of Frontline for cats, on the back of her neck). She is thriving now.