not sure where to begin with this...

[newmummy]

Hi, wondering if anyone can help with what might be happening and how i can help my chicken (silkie).

About 2 weeks ago when i let her out of the run to free range she had a small limp, i kept an eye on her, she was still eating and drinking and still managing to limp around the garden with my other two hens. However the next day the limp was worst and then over the next couple of days she stopped coming out of the run into the garden and would just sit inside the run. She was still managing to limp to the feeders to eat and drink though.

I think she had a sprain and i gave her half a baby aspirin per day and i gave her some baby vitamins as well. Her limp is better now and is walking normal and will walk out into the garden with the others.

She had an eye infection not long after we first got her (i think shes around 18 months now) we think it was conjunctivitis and with cream it stopped but her pupil turned grey afterwards and since then she hasnt been able to see from it i think. She has been fine though, she tilts her head to use her good eye and has been acting like the other two until the last two weeks.

So ive brought her in tonight because shes just still not right. Shes huddled in the corner sometimes in the run. She will come out when i open the run and shes not limping anymore but today ive noticed as if she cant see out the other eye now either. Im putting treats in front of her and she just cant seem to find them.
Ive also noticed her poo is like a yellow/mustard colour and is foamy with air bubbles in it. She also has a dirty bum and ive managed to trim the feathers that had a lot of poo stuck to them and im planning on giving her a bath to clean them off properly soon.
Ive looked at her vent as well and that seems fine and doesnt look like the vent gleet pictures ive seen.

Ive also never had an egg from her and she doesnt show signs of being egg bound either.

Ive read so much on what it could be, i dont know if she has just had different things or if they are all connected?

I know the mareks alarm bells ring with the grey pupil and leg problems but she doesnt have the leg problems anymore and the eye turning grey has got to be at least 6 months ago i think and that only happened after she had the conjunctivitis.

So shes in the house now, ive saline washed both eyes, the dodgy one (grey one) is still the same and the good eye looks fine- open clear and black. Ive also brushed her hair out of her eyes but its not making a difference to what she can see.

Im not sure what to do now, we dont have a vet close. What should i be giving her? baby vitamins, antibiotics? something to help with the poo or diarrhea if it is that? what about her eyesight? I feel totally lost on where to begin.

any help would be so appreciated.

 

[sourland]

I'm still concerned that she may still be affected by Marek's - time will tell about this. I would place her in a relatively small enclosure and maintain feed and water in constant places so that she can remember their locations. Good luck, and hopefully this is not a progressive situation.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

2 weeks ago when i let her out of the run to free range she had a small limp

over the next couple of days she stopped coming out of the run into the garden and would just sit inside the run. She was still managing to limp to the feeders to eat and drink though.

Her limp is better now and is walking normal

had an eye infection not long after we first got her (i think shes around 18 months now) we think it was conjunctivitis and with cream it stopped but her pupil turned grey afterwards

ive brought her in tonight because shes just still not right. Shes huddled in the corner sometimes in the run. She will come out when i open the run and shes not limping anymore but today ive noticed as if she cant see out the other eye now either.

her poo is like a yellow/mustard colour and is foamy with air bubbles in it. She also has a dirty bum

Ive also never had an egg from her and she doesnt show signs of being egg bound either.

I know the mareks alarm bells ring with the grey pupil and leg problems but she doesnt have the leg problems anymore and the eye turning grey has got to be at least 6 months ago i think and that only happened after she had the conjunctivitis.

Hi @newmummy Welcome to BYC

I'm sorry to hear about your hen.
If you have photos you would like to share that would be good. (hen, poop, eyes, housing, etc.)

It does sound like she has Marek's.

Marek's is a lifelong disease, birds can become symptomatic and then appear to be doing well. There are several types - I'm sure you have read about those, but here's some good information about Marek's for you to read:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq
You can also do an onsite search and come up with a lot information as well.

Since your hen has never laid eggs, she may have a reproductive problem - have you felt her abdomen for any bloat, swelling or fluid. Egg Yolk Peritonitis, cancer, tumors, Internal Laying and few other are fairly common.

With chickens, there can be many things that can go wrong. It would be hard to know where to begin, I agree.
The first thing to do is see if you can get her hydrated. Check her crop to make sure it's empty in the mornings, look her over for lice/mites, feel the abdomen for bloat/swelling and get the testing to rule out infection, worms and/or coccidiosis.
You don't mention your location, but if you are in the US, most state labs will perform testing for you. You can find a list of state labs here:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[Cragg Klefor]

Hi Newmummy, welcome to the forum
Sorry to hear about your little silkie! It sounds like she has had to deal with a lot already in her 18 months!!

Unfortunately I also agree it sounds like Mareks.

But I would check over the things Wyorp Rock mentioned

she may have a reproductive problem - have you felt her abdomen for any bloat, swelling or fluid. Egg Yolk Peritonitis, cancer, tumors, Internal Laying and few other are fairly common.

The first thing to do is see if you can get her hydrated. Check her crop to make sure it's empty in the mornings, look her over for lice/mites, feel the abdomen for bloat/swelling and get the testing to rule out infection, worms and/or coccidiosis.

and go from there.
If it is not Mareks it may be just a combination of things which you could work through, one of which I would agree sounds like a reproductive disorder, and if it is Mareks - perhaps you can make her life a little easier at least by tackling each symptom at a time and easing discomfort for her.
If she has in fact become blind in both eyes, that is unfortunate. However, many people have a chicken who is blind and they fair out ok. From what I read most blind chickens will have a chicken friend (from the existing flock) that will help them get around by leading them to drink/feed etc. So it can be done. Looking forward the hearing how your examination of her goes, and best of luck with her.

 

[newmummy]

Hi everyone, thanks for replying with advice.

Shes still in the house. The only poo she seems to be having now is a dark green poo. Its been mostly solid like the picture. Sorry if your having your dinner!

What do you think this means? I havent seen anything with the dark poo and her symtpoms.
Ive just gone in to check on her and shes pooed a watery green poo that i could hear her pooing (sorry again for the tmi) What do you think could be causing this? I havent seen any foamy mustard poo since shes been in the house.

Ive been saline washing/wiping her eyes as shes still having problems 'hitting the target' while eating. Ive noticed that she has these yellow crusts on the skin surrounding her eyes. There isnt anything on her eyelids or eye like you would expect if it was dried discharge. Here are a few pics of her good eye, hopefully you can see what i mean. She didnt use to have these before.



Its hard to take photos with one hand sorry for the quality!

here is a picture of a crust that came off when i wiped it, the other crusts seem stuck on though and dont come off that easily.



It doesnt look like eggs and there is nothing moving either. Could these be mites?

Im not sure what is causing her eyesight to be so bad as the 'good eye' is open and black like it was before and the other eye itself looks like it did before except these crusts.

Ive got her on avipro plus (in her water holder) now for electrolytes as ive only seen her drink a little.

I gave her ivermectin drop on last week in case she had mites and am i right to think that this would be enough to worm her as well?
Last time i wormed them all together with the wormer in pellets.

I cant feel any lumps, she does feel very skinny though

Other things i have noticed is she will walk a bit and then pick up her feet and try to peck underneath it like they are irriating her. Ive been checking everyday for bumble foot but nothing and after a wipe down they are clear. The only thing i can see is she has feathers on the side of her feet that look dirty and broken. Should i trim them?

She will as well shake her head sometimes, like she is trying to shake something off. She will walk backwards but i put this (the walking backwards bit) down to her eyesight and backing up to feel safe.

thanks for your continued help.

 

[Cragg Klefor]

I think it's sounding more like Marek's with each symptom unfortunately, including the walking backwards. However, I'll tell you that I have only read a lot about Marek's. I have never seen it first hand.
I have also heard (and seen actually) of backwards walking due to vitamin deficiency, and green poop is normally due to lack of eating (starvation), dehydration or infection - or disease. I'm sure the others will have more detailed info for you.. I just thought I would reply in case no one else is around right now.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She will as well shake her head sometimes, like she is trying to shake something off. She will walk backwards but i put this (the walking backwards bit) down to her eyesight and backing up to feel safe.

If you have vet care, that is best.

I'm not sure what the crusty stuff is. I would look her over very well for lice and mites.
How much Ivermectin did you give? Did you repeat it in 10 days? If given correctly, it may take care of large roundworms. Getting a fecal float to check for worms is one way to rule them out.

The walking backwards is generally associated with neurological symptoms of disease like Marek's. You can try vitamin therapy as supportive care to see if she improves.
Give 400IU Vitamin E daily along with 1/4tablet B-Complex.

Green poop can be caused by diet (green veggies) or it can be a symptom of disease like Marek's or from certain conditions like worms, coccidiosis and infection.

 

[newmummy]

I gave 4 drops of the 1% ivermectin, its just over a week now so ill reapply when it comes up to the 10 days, thanks.

Thanks, how would you give the vitamins? She will take tablets if i hide them in grapes. The vitamin E tablet does it come as a capsule? how would you give that? Im worried about forcing the liquid the wrong way- is it possible to get a tablet form of the vitamin E? I tried giving some of the avipro tonight in a syringe and i just dropped the water bit by bit on her beak so i probably wasted half

I feel so bad if the green poo is starvation, ive seen her eating or what looks like eating when shes out with the others in the run. She was fine taking the treats the other day off me and then i just noticed she wasnt able to see the grapes very well out of my hand and that is when ive brought her in the house.
Is there anything i can give her to build her up quickly?
Shes been eating the pellets,some corn and grapes but shes really just hitting her beak on the floor hoping to get one. Im worried that if she goes back in the coop the other two will just not give her the patience so she can eat enough and im also worried if she stays on her own like she is at the moment she will get sad and depressed.

My whole day and night at the moment seems to be chicken related.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You can pierce the Vitamin E and squeeze the contents onto a treat, same with the vitamin B-complex - crush it up and add it to food.

If she is not eating very well, you will have to try to figure out how to get nutrition into her.
You can try tube feeding her if you need to. Make a slurry out of her feed or use a baby bird formula like Kaytee which can be found at pet stores like PetSmart.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...res-under-construction.1064392/#post-18827506

 

[newmummy]

Hi everyone, so ive been giving her the vitamin e and b complex tablet and shes still got the electrolytes in her water. Im not able to watch her 24/7 so im not sure exactly how much of the water she is getting.
Shes perked up in now she talks quite loudly when i come in the room and has gone and pecked me when im putting my hand in now.
I still want to clean her bum up and try to trim the feathers on her good eye. Her eyesight still seems the same though. It takes her a good few times pecking before getting the treat.

Is there anything to i can to help her eyesight? any vitamins? The pupil in the good eye still seems bright (dark black) and open and nothing seems obviously wrong.

What i did notice yesterday though is these poos.....







Do these look normal to you or poos or because of Coccidiosis? should i be treating for this as well? She hasnt had poos with red bits since moving in the house and i cant tell from looking online if these are normal.
These all were there on the same day when i went in to see her in the morning.

Thanks again for your help.