Paralyzed Hen Please Help

[Wyorp Rock]

It's possible she has sour crop if the breath smells. I have never heard of sour crop causing paralysis.

The paralysis/movements in your video makes me think something neurological. Whether it's related to Marek's, vitamin deficiency or possibly head trauma since this is a crested bird, I don't know.

The poop is concerning - looks possibly blood tinged - maybe bacterial infection. A vet can do some testing to confirm this.

Since she is not eating/drinking well and is ill - the crop may not be functioning like it should resulting in sour crop.

Hopefully the others I tagged will take a look and share their thoughts.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

I'm sorry to say it but that looks like it may well be Marek's Disease. The things that point to it being that are :-
1. Age and breed of chick.... 8 weeks is about right for Marek's to exhibit and Silkies are particularly prone to it.
2. The paralysis appears to be neurological with one leg forward.... very similar to classic Marek's splits posture.
3. The bird has recently had a change of environment which may have exposed it to the virus or caused stress which often triggers an outbreak of the virus.

Unfortunately if I am right, the prognosis is not good but I would suggest you can make the bird more comfortable by making it a chicken sling/hammock to support it in an upright position. Sour crop could be as a result of the paralysis or possibly a tumour (Marek's causes tumours as well as paralysis) or not being able to maintain itself in an upright position, enabling the digestive tract to function properly. You could try to massage the crop gently but if there is a blockage then fluids may reflux and there is a risk of the chick aspirating it, so be careful of that.
I'm leaning towards the pinkness in the droppings being shed intestinal lining rather than blood but there is also a mucous appearance to it which might suggest coccidiosis anyway.....again that could be due to Marek's which suppresses the immune system and leaves birds open to other problems that their system would normally manage to fight off.

Sour crop in itself will not produce paralysis. The bird might appear weak and perhaps be tipping forward from the weight of the crop but not that uncoordinated floundering with a leg stuck out in front.

Do you have any other chicks the same age or is this an only chick?

I'm sorry to paint such a black picture of this. I have been through it with quite a few chicks and hens and some have recovered, but once they will no longer eat and drink, they normally deteriorate quite quickly and I have made that the point at which I euthanize. I appreciate that you won't be able to give up on your chick like that and the best that I can suggest is to make her comfortable and try to get that crop working and get a few drops of Nutri Drench into her if possible as that will help support her immune system and hopefully give her a boost.

Good luck with her

Barbara

PS. If you do a search on chicken slings or chicken hammocks you should find plenty of images of things you can make from everyday items....I'm not tech savvy enough to implant images from other posts but hopefully someone else could assist with that.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks for the input Barbara.

@Shay88 here is a "classic" sling design that can be used for Marek's, injured birds, etc. A lot of people come up with creative variations, but this gives you a good idea of what Barbara is talking about.

I'm so sorry about your girl, she is adorable. I wish it was what we had hoped initially (possible Cocci) - it's hard to know with just "word descriptions", but when we can see video like you posted symptoms/behavior is more easily seen and understood. Thank you for adding the video.

Keep us posted.

 

[rebrascora]

Thanks Wyorp Rock. I knew you would be able to help me out with that.

 

[Shay88]

Thank you everyone for taking the time out and giving me as much information as possible. Every bit of it has helped. As of this morning Peeper is still hanging in there. Seeing her this way is heart breaking and I just feel so helpless. I have her kinda propped up with a hand towel to where she can still get to her food and water but not fall over. I have her started on Corid. I made her some scrambled eggs yesterday. She seemed to really like them at first but didn't eat that much of them. I'm going to send that information to my husband and see if he can make a sling for her at work today. I'm sure that would be much more comfortable. I have 4 Silkie chicks but they are about a month younger than Peeper, hatched on May 15th . They have been in a separate brooder the whole time but in the same room. They have been vaccinated, unlike Pepper. Should I be worried?

 

[rebrascora]

Worrying won't achieve anything, so if you can avoid it, do so..... this is from a world class worrier. Did you buy the chicks vaccinated (for Marek's?) or vaccinate them yourself and if so, when? Some people with Marek's in their flock buy in vaccinated chicks and give them a second top up jab when they are a few weeks old. I'm not personally in favour of the vaccine for Marek's as I have read a study which suggested that it may be responsible for the more severe strains of the disease which are now emerging, but that is down to the individual to decide on what is best for their flock in their situation.

If her crop is impacted or sour, it will make it difficult for her to eat anything more than a small amount. Usually once it goes sour, they don't feel like eating at all, but if it is impacted they are often hungry but can't eat much. Gentle massage several times a day and sloppy food only, can sometimes get things moving. They will usually appear to enjoy the massage or at least find it beneficial. If she doesn't tolerate it well after the first couple of attempts, then I would not continue.

Please keep us updated with her progress. I will be keeping my fingers crossed for her.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[Shay88]

I'm the same way, always worrying. Being stuck at work all day doesn't help at all. One more hour.
The chicks I bought already vaccinated. I guess I've never thought about vaccinating my own chicks but would be willing to do so if need be. Peeper was the first we have hatched at home so this is a whole new experience for me and it hasn't been the best. My husband made the frame for a sling at work today, so I'm hoping that will help make her more comfortable.

 

[Shay88]

Peeper didn't make it through the night. Its been a really rough morning. Last night when I was trying to give her water she wanted nothing to do with it. She also could barely keep her little eyes open. I felt so bad for her i knew it was time to say good bye knowing that she most likely wasn't going to make it much longer. It will forever bother me not knowing what the actual cause of all this was.
I just wanted to thank everyone for all your help and kind words. Its humbling knowing I have people on here that understand what I'm going through. My first real lose is a hard one, but I've got 25 other chicken babes that need me.

 

[rebrascora]

I'm so very sorry she didn't make it. From experience, once they lose interest in eating and drinking, the end is near and there is very little you can do for them.

If you really want to find out what was wrong with her, you have a couple of options.... refrigerate the body and send it off for a necropsy or do one yourself. I do this with my birds that die and I find it very interesting and beneficial. If you decide to do it yourself, take photos of everything and post them here, so that we can help you figure it out. I understand this is not for everyone but once you get over the emotional aspect, it really is quite fascinating and surprising what you can determine even with no medical training.

Best wishes for your remaining flock

Barbara

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm so sorry