Hey all, I have a day old Australorp hatchling that has an issue I've never encountered before and I'm hoping I can get some help here. I think this may be "crazy chicken disease", but I'm not entirely sure and wanted to get opinions from the good folks here.
I found them in the incubator this way yesterday morning.
Symptoms: They are unable to stand up on their own and balance themselves. They wind up stuck on their side, and when attempting to move, seem to kick their legs wildly, resulting in them spinning in circles. Sometimes they will wind up on their back, but they quickly adjust themselves back to their side- not center. I noticed that they usually have one or both legs fully extended. It also seems like their neck winds up bent, either to the side quite a bit or between their legs, although sometimes they can hold their head normally. When I try to help prop them up a bit they seem to want to lean to one side, and tend to have one leg fully extended while the other is retracted. I've noticed they sometimes will have a foot up by their head when trying to move around on their side. When they sleep it's entirely on their side, usually with their legs straight out, although it seems like their legs look a bit more relaxed today.
It's also worth noting that they are VERY energetic, spunky, and surprisingly strong. I have to have a pretty secure hold on them when handling them otherwise they will kick their way out of my hands.
I don't see any obvious injuries or signs of trauma. They do, however, seem to have a not fully absorbed yolk sack on them- Not sure what to do about that, either. It is very small. No other birds have any of these symptoms.
They seem to have a pretty healthy appetite. They will readily attempt to eat and peck at food (although their aim is not the best). They have had their first bowel movement which was healthy. They haven't been as interested in water so I feed them a mush mixture.
Treatment: I have them in their own box lined with paper towels away from the others. Like I said, I suspect this is "crazy chicken disease", so I have been feeding them a mush mixture of scrambled eggs, starter chicken feed, and water with some dissolved Rooster Booster and Nutri-Drench in it which I try to encourage them to peck at themselves. I also made them a little chicken sling to try and help them get some balance and learn the motions of walking- chicky PT, I guess. They protest a lot and escape the sling sometimes, but it seems like today they've been able to put their weight on both feet evenly while in the sling a couple times. It also seems like they may be starting to understand how to push themselves forward while in the sling, although I'm not sure if this is wishful thinking on my part...
Does this seem like crazy chicken disease or something else? Anything else I can be doing to help the little guy? Their spunkiness and strength gives me hope that they might be able to recover from this, which is why I want to be sure I'm doing all that I can to help them along.
Thanks for any help!
I found them in the incubator this way yesterday morning.
Symptoms: They are unable to stand up on their own and balance themselves. They wind up stuck on their side, and when attempting to move, seem to kick their legs wildly, resulting in them spinning in circles. Sometimes they will wind up on their back, but they quickly adjust themselves back to their side- not center. I noticed that they usually have one or both legs fully extended. It also seems like their neck winds up bent, either to the side quite a bit or between their legs, although sometimes they can hold their head normally. When I try to help prop them up a bit they seem to want to lean to one side, and tend to have one leg fully extended while the other is retracted. I've noticed they sometimes will have a foot up by their head when trying to move around on their side. When they sleep it's entirely on their side, usually with their legs straight out, although it seems like their legs look a bit more relaxed today.
It's also worth noting that they are VERY energetic, spunky, and surprisingly strong. I have to have a pretty secure hold on them when handling them otherwise they will kick their way out of my hands.
I don't see any obvious injuries or signs of trauma. They do, however, seem to have a not fully absorbed yolk sack on them- Not sure what to do about that, either. It is very small. No other birds have any of these symptoms.
They seem to have a pretty healthy appetite. They will readily attempt to eat and peck at food (although their aim is not the best). They have had their first bowel movement which was healthy. They haven't been as interested in water so I feed them a mush mixture.
Treatment: I have them in their own box lined with paper towels away from the others. Like I said, I suspect this is "crazy chicken disease", so I have been feeding them a mush mixture of scrambled eggs, starter chicken feed, and water with some dissolved Rooster Booster and Nutri-Drench in it which I try to encourage them to peck at themselves. I also made them a little chicken sling to try and help them get some balance and learn the motions of walking- chicky PT, I guess. They protest a lot and escape the sling sometimes, but it seems like today they've been able to put their weight on both feet evenly while in the sling a couple times. It also seems like they may be starting to understand how to push themselves forward while in the sling, although I'm not sure if this is wishful thinking on my part...
Does this seem like crazy chicken disease or something else? Anything else I can be doing to help the little guy? Their spunkiness and strength gives me hope that they might be able to recover from this, which is why I want to be sure I'm doing all that I can to help them along.
Thanks for any help!
If I can help at least one person and their chicken with what I've written I consider that a job well done.
