Paralyzed hen with labored breathing

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Chickensaurous said:
It's the only disease I can think of that causes paralysis, my chickens did get this disease and most of them lived try this method if they are showing all the symptoms please don't stress though cause their is a cure It is a homeopathic remedy called "Hypericum." Hypericum is a small creeping herb that, when used hollistically, numbs nerves and dulls pain. When given to a bird suffering from the symptoms of Marek's Disease, it will cure the bird by working on the theory that "like cures like," in other words, by giving the bird the symptoms it will take the symptoms away. I've used this herb with great success to fully cure birds of Marek's Disease. You can fnd Hypericum at health food stores, $8 for 100 tablets. Hypericum must be diluted before it can be used:

- 1 tablespoon of DISTILLED water per tablet Hypericum (must be distilled water, tap water is ionized and will deactivate the Hypericum)
- MUST be mixed in a GLASS or PLASTIC bowl (metal with react with the water and herb)
- drip 5-10 drops (bantam) or 10-15 drops (large fowl) on the afflicted bird's tongue. Be sure the bird rubs its beak together because the Hypericum MUST touch the sinuses (located on the roof of the mouth) in order to work
- treat every 12 hours (morning and night) with a fresh batch
- recovery may be as quick as 1 day or as slow as several months

The treatment works best if you begin treating early. If you delay treatment, the Hypericum may not work or it may be a very slow recovery. IF YOU OVERDOSE YOUR BIRDS ON HYPERICUM, don't worry. The bird will exhibit extreme symptoms, and make a drastic improvment within a 24 hours. Hypericum is also helpful for pain. Only treat birds that are showing symptoms.

Good luck
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I can think of at least one more. Botulism!
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/187/botulism
 
Thanks for all the varied suggestions. I had to go to court over my roosters and chickens yesterday and the judge dismissed the 14-4 noise ordinance. He did suggest to the neighbor that she record the noise and refile if she'd like. I'm on 4 acres in an agricultural village. The zoning department said the noise ordinance does not apply to me and I can have as many roos and hens that I'd like, but the judge would not even take that into account. I am sure this court battle is not over. I moved my roos farther from them and kept them locked up in the garage at night hoping the suit would be dropped. Since I had to drive an hour to court and take time off from work, I may not go to all the trouble of placing them in the garage at night.

My paralyzed hen has been trying to fly up a bit and it looks as though her right leg could have a break...foot seems swollen. Do chickens heal from breaks in their legs and continue to thrive? She is eating and pooping normally...a bit messy though since she is eating so many grapes and yogurt. I've been taking raw honey and mixing it will flock raiser into balls and giving that to her as well. I use baby wipes to keep her clean and have her balancing on a microfiber cloth rolled up under her belly so she doesn't have to have her bottom so firmly on the wee wee pad to prevent diaper rash. I've been taking raw honey and mixing it will flock raiser that I make into balls and give her this as well. I try and exercise her several times a day, too.
 
It sounds like you have a headache with your neighbor, I'm sorry!

I just wanted to mention that Marek's disease can present with only ONE symptom, and most birds don't get a 'combo' of all the different symptoms. Probably the most common symptoms include partial or total leg paralysis, lameness, poor coordination, overall poor health, and general wasting. A chicken might only show one of those symptoms. Only some cases actually get the 'splits' and the ocular changes.

I would reduce the raw honey intake quite a bit and give it as a rare treat. That's a lot of sugar for her system to deal with and may cause her secondary problems as her immune system might not be in top shape right now. Same with the yogurt; if you are feeding it for the probiotic benefit, I suggest getting a simple powdered probiotic and adding it to her feed, or offering small amounts of a quality buttermilk (or kefir if you do that at home) as they are going to have more probiotic benefit than yogurt. Not to mention a lot of dairy and yogurt is very hard on the digestive system and the last thing you want right now is her having looser stools than necessary. If she is battling a disease or ailment, she needs to stay well hydrated.
The grapes are okay too but only in moderation. Be careful about feeding a lot of grapes grown with conventional farming as they can have a heavy load of pesticides on them (sadly true for most berries). A few years back a lot of parrot owners experienced sick or dying parrots when feeding grapes sourced in Chile.

I hope she continues to improve for you!
 
Nambroth said:
It sounds like you have a headache with your neighbor, I'm sorry!

I just wanted to mention that Marek's disease can present with only ONE symptom, and most birds don't get a 'combo' of all the different symptoms. Probably the most common symptoms include partial or total leg paralysis, lameness, poor coordination, overall poor health, and general wasting. A chicken might only show one of those symptoms. Only some cases actually get the 'splits' and the ocular changes.

I would reduce the raw honey intake quite a bit and give it as a rare treat. That's a lot of sugar for her system to deal with and may cause her secondary problems as her immune system might not be in top shape right now. Same with the yogurt; if you are feeding it for the probiotic benefit, I suggest getting a simple powdered probiotic and adding it to her feed, or offering small amounts of a quality buttermilk (or kefir if you do that at home) as they are going to have more probiotic benefit than yogurt. Not to mention a lot of dairy and yogurt is very hard on the digestive system and the last thing you want right now is her having looser stools than necessary. If she is battling a disease or ailment, she needs to stay well hydrated.
The grapes are okay too but only in moderation. Be careful about feeding a lot of grapes grown with conventional farming as they can have a heavy load of pesticides on them (sadly true for most berries). A few years back a lot of parrot owners experienced sick or dying parrots when feeding grapes sourced in Chile.

I hope she continues to improve for you!
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Great information. I do hope it is not Marek's since she has been with one of my Swedish Flower Hen and her 4 chicks. I have been giving her iflora capsules, a probiotic. I take these in the mornings as well. I'll withhold the honey for awhile. She doesn't seem to want to eat her normal rations and I am getting tired of forcing her to eat it. She doesn't want to drink like she used to either.

My daughter is expecting a baby in early August and I need to make a trip to see her this weekend and help her out a bit since she just moved in June. It's a 5+ hour drive and I hate to have my husband care for Selena2 along with all my other chickens and chicks, cats and large outdoor koi, etc. I may have to let her go soon if she does not improve. The other chickens will likely pick on her if she does recover since she's been away so long. I'll decide soon.

Today has been so busy because I was visited by a bear this morning and he is still around. This black bear got into all my galvanized cans with feed in the shed which is good, I guess, because he hasn't gone for the chickens or koi yet. Animal control will do nothing. He appears so cute as he straddles a stump in the woods and chews on twigs, climbs trees, etc. He carried off one of my large pine bale shavings bag and spread half of it around under a large tree. I wonder if he is planning on bedding down there for a while?
 
Oh dear, I'm really sorry to hear about the bear problem. Is there any way for you to put up some electric fence? I had to put some up because we have bears here too. My charger and fencing cost me around $130 or $140, and it has certainly paid for itself in reducing property damage and I'm sure over time it would pay for your feed costs if the bear keeps getting into it, its solar powered so I don't even need to run electricity out there.
 
Nambroth said:
Oh dear, I'm really sorry to hear about the bear problem. Is there any way for you to put up some electric fence? I had to put some up because we have bears here too. My charger and fencing cost me around $130 or $140, and it has certainly paid for itself in reducing property damage and I'm sure over time it would pay for your feed costs if the bear keeps getting into it, its solar powered so I don't even need to run electricity out there.
Click to expand...
I've heard that electric fences don't even keep them out, but I was reading and you can put peanut butter on tinfoil and attach to fence and that will work with deer and bears. Did you order yours online? If so, I'd love to have the information. So far, the bear has not taken any chickens. He ate so much food yesterday that I bet he has a major stomach ache. Just a matter of time before he appears again. I took a bright led light and a bb gun out yesterday evening and scared him away into the woods.

Selena2 flew out of her shallow box this morning...just six inches or so and then plopped down again breathing hard. Her legs still will not support her and that frustrates her and she talks to me a lot about it and to make her more comfortable. She doesn't seem to want to drink like she once did, but she gets moisture in the little food she eats. My husband said he'd be willing to work with her over the weekend while I'm gone, so I may just let her be a little longer.
 
kallan said:
I've heard that electric fences don't even keep them out, but I was reading and you can put peanut butter on tinfoil and attach to fence and that will work with deer and bears. Did you order yours online? If so, I'd love to have the information. So far, the bear has not taken any chickens. He ate so much food yesterday that I bet he has a major stomach ache. Just a matter of time before he appears again. I took a bright led light and a bb gun out yesterday evening and scared him away into the woods.

Selena2 flew out of her shallow box this morning...just six inches or so and then plopped down again breathing hard. Her legs still will not support her and that frustrates her and she talks to me a lot about it and to make her more comfortable. She doesn't seem to want to drink like she once did, but she gets moisture in the little food she eats. My husband said he'd be willing to work with her over the weekend while I'm gone, so I may just let her be a little longer.
Click to expand...

I got mine at tractor supply. I must say that a properly set up electric fence has kept our black bears at bay. The key is to make sure you have your lines at the right height.
I haven't heard of foil with peanut butter.. do you mean attach that to the electric fence so that when they take a taste they get zapped?
I got my fence charger and fence line at Tractor Supply-- I bet you could probably find it cheaper online though, depending.
My feed is very expensive and I can't imagine losing it to a bear. Three 'break-ins' for me would cost as much as a new electric fence setup!

Good luck with your hen!!
 
Nambroth said:
I got mine at tractor supply. I must say that a properly set up electric fence has kept our black bears at bay. The key is to make sure you have your lines at the right height.
I haven't heard of foil with peanut butter.. do you mean attach that to the electric fence so that when they take a taste they get zapped?
I got my fence charger and fence line at Tractor Supply-- I bet you could probably find it cheaper online though, depending.
My feed is very expensive and I can't imagine losing it to a bear. Three 'break-ins' for me would cost as much as a new electric fence setup!

Good luck with your hen!!
Click to expand...
Here's the post on BYC using peanut butter:

Originally Posted by Bowslayer2

I have an idea that may work for you. It works for beekeepers and we use it successfully to keep deer out of our haystacks.
Put up an electric fence/wire around the coop. Take tinfoil and wrap it around the electric fence wire, then coat it in peanut butter. You may have to re-coat it weekly.
The animal will come up to the electric fence and bite/lick the peanut butter and get quite a painful and scary shock. We used to have deer tearing our haystacks apart, but after a couple nights of the peanut butter on the electric fence they usually don't even come onto our property anymore. We don't keep the peanut butter going all the time, just when needed (i.e. when hay is stacked new). Now once or twice every couple of years seems to keep all deer off the property.
We also use this around our bee hives and although we have not had bear problems, i am sure if a bear came by they would not like the "treat". My in-laws had a bear tear apart their coop and kill some chickens a couple of years ago... since then, they have used the peanut butter trick with no more chicken casualites.
May be worth trying.....since once a bear knows there's food available they tend to come back.

Dang!!! I just used my 10% TSC coupon for more food! I'll do some searching online in a bit and get the fencing ordered. The bear just came back around 11:11 am and I ran out with pot lids, rattles and a cow bell and just stood up to him and made so much noise he ran off again. I am sure he will be back soon. Here's a link with a good video that might be happening to me soon.

Thanks for the help with the fence. I do hope I'm doing the right thing by nursing my hen.
 

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