Now what??? Hen is off balance

[Lucysmom002]

Am I doing something wrong?? Am I feeding bad food?? Geez

Now, CreamPuff, Kelli's favorite... is off balance. It was first noticed yesterday. She is standing around with her wings a little droopy and just clumsy. She can walk but not 100% normal. Her crop has been empty all day and I just threw some cracked corn to see if she would eat it and she gobbled up every piece.

What could be wrong with her now?

Also, My Crevecoeur chicken is acting weird too. Doesn't seem to want to eat much and is laying around.

 

[Lucysmom002]

CreamPuff is a Columbian Rock (we think) 20 weeks old from McMurray. She was vaccinated for Marek's.

Geez, had I known that chickens can be so addicting and you can love them so much and they are prone to all this pain and suffering, I wouldn't have even started with them.

 

[seminolewind]

I don't know what's wrong. But, what color is the poo? Can you try a different bag of grain? Have you thought of coccidiosis?

 

[Lucysmom002]

her poo was normal today

The Crevecoeur is not eating or drinking, just sitting there with her mouth open. I just brought her in and gave her some sugar/salt water at least.. ughghgh

STRESS

 

[Lucysmom002]

I fed all my young chickens med feed until about 3 months old then switched. I have layer and grower.

I hate this!

 

[seminolewind]

Maybe she ate something bad. I think the open mouth thing is stress.

 

[Lucysmom002]

omg okay this morning, CreamPuff is laying down on her side when I went out there. I stood her up. She goes running straight ahead off balance and crashed into the wall. Then she took off again running off balance and hits a corner and her feet came up over her head!! She cannot control her movement. Then she started biting at herself and my hand like she couldn't stop or something was hurting her. (this is the gentlest bird EVER) she would NEVER bite anyone. What the heck is going on??? This is neurologic. Could she have been pecked in the head????


"Punky" the Crevecoeur is awake and gently nibbling on food this morning.

Dixie by BO is still hanging in there too.

 

[Lucysmom002]

Please help with info. I went and got electrolytes. It says mix package with 2 qts water. Do I give the full strength to chickens? I also bought Poly VI Sol.

The stuff I got is called Revitilyte.

 

[Lucysmom002]

anyone?

 

[mysweetgypsy]

These same symptoms seem to be cropping up all over the place. People are suggesting it's Mareks, I think so too. Of course chickens are tough to vet, mainly because no one sees them, so until a necropsy is done you wouldn't know for sure. I have a small flock, all bought as babies (most vaccinated for Mareks), all under 25 weeks, and one by one several have started to stumble, lose weight, and eventually die. I've lost 3 this way in 2 months. The one hen that did perk up I treated with a vit/min supplement, wormed, treated for cocci (sulmet), and gave several large doses of vit E. But as predicted with Mareks, she's starting to stumble again and will likely die in a day or two. None of my girls have shown the classic one foot forwards and one back, but they all started with a bit of a wobble, then stumbling, then total lack of coordination to the point they are just down and can't get to their feet. This next hen will be going for a necropsy.

It sounds like you have a plan, so other than the worming and vit E, keep going. But watch the others carefully. If you have a good avian vet, take her in. Hopefully you luck out and it's something that can be corrected. Good luck!