paralyzed hen

[quark]

hi all,

been lurking and learning on this site for a while and ran into an issue where i could use some specific input.

yesterday morning i found my 10mo lakeshore egger limping on 1 leg to the feed and sat down to eat it. i had heard my rooster sound the alarm call at dusk while i was still in bed. i thought maybe there had been an unsuccessful predator attack. i picked her up and examined her - nothing broken / no open wounds. she didn't object to me palpating her / flexing her joints. she laid an egg the day before and was acting completely normal. since she couldn't get around all that well, i placed her in a dog crate in the garage and gave her water with rooster booster mixed in, and some food. when i placed her in the crate, she could still stand on 1 leg. she stayed pretty much exactly where i put her all of yesterday and last night. in trying to figure out if her lameness was pain related, i put some aspirin in her water last night before bed. i watched her drink a good amount. well, when i went to check on her this morning, she appears to not be able to stand up at all and was keeled over to the side and trying to prop herself up with her wings. she is still eating and drinking. she has done 3 very watery poops since she has been placed in the cage.

any idea of what might be causing her now paralysis? my immediate guess was trauma, but i can't find evidence. i suppose it could be Mareks, though do they go paralyzed at the drop of a hat? what, if anything, can i do to help her? i don't have a poultry vet in my area.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Doubt trauma, though possible.

My experience with Mareks is they are pretty much fine one day and then the next limping, and then totally paralyzed in a day or two. So yeah, mine have gone fast. Depends on the strain. Some strains are more virulent than others.

I've also just had the one outlier here and there that has come down with Mareks symptoms. Most of my flock is resistant.

Mareks is everywhere.

LofMc

 

[quark]

Doubt trauma, though possible.

My experience with Mareks is they are pretty much fine one day and then the next limping, and then totally paralyzed in a day or two. So yeah, mine have gone fast. Depends on the strain. Some strains are more virulent than others.

I've also just had the one outlier here and there that has come down with Mareks symptoms. Most of my flock is resistant.

Mareks is everywhere.

LofMc

mine, when limping, was more acting like she didn’t want to put weight on her left leg. she would pick it up close to her body and stand on one foot. but now she’s not able to stand up and she actually has her right foot curled up under her. she laid a pretty green egg this afternoon. she’s the only green egger in my flock. sad to think that this may be the last egg she will ever lay

 

[Lady of McCamley]

It's always your favorite.

Maybe, with luck, it is some injury...but even that doesn't look hopeful that she will recover.

So sorry.
LofMc

 

[quark]

well, there's been no change in the hen's status in the last 24 hours. still paralyzed, and still eats and drinks. doesn't seem to be going downhill. i guess i wait and see.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your pullet. Hopefully, it isn’t Mareks, but time will tell. Is she moving her legs at all now if you stroke them or the toes? You might want to try a chicken sling for a few hours a day, to get her up, keep her cleaner, and in front of food and water. She can be out of the sling for periods of rest and at night.

It can be worth taking some time to see if she gets better. I had a vaccinated hen go off her legs with imbalance once for 5 weeks, and then recover, from something other than Mareks.

Mareks is usually diagnosed with a necropsy by the state vet after death. What stat are you in? There are a couple of labs who will send you materials to collect blood from a trimmed toenail, to perform a PCR test for Mareks. I can give you the info if you would like.

 

[quark]

Sorry about your pullet. Hopefully, it isn’t Mareks, but time will tell. Is she moving her legs at all now if you stroke them or the toes? You might want to try a chicken sling for a few hours a day, to get her up, keep her cleaner, and in front of food and water. She can be out of the sling for periods of rest and at night.

It can be worth taking some time to see if she gets better. I had a vaccinated hen go off her legs with imbalance once for 5 weeks, and then recover, from something other than Mareks.

Mareks is usually diagnosed with a necropsy by the state vet after death. What stat are you in? There are a couple of labs who will send you materials to collect blood from a trimmed toenail, to perform a PCR test for Mareks. I can give you the info if you would like.

thanks, eggcessive! she is able to move her legs/toes somewhat. funny thing is she started going lame on the left leg, and now the right one is worse...

i'll have to look up chicken sling and see if i can rig something up. keeping her clean is definitely a challenge. but i also don't want to wash her every day and add to her stress.

i'm in southern california. interesting that one can test for mareks using toenail trimmings! when you say blood from trimmed toenail, does it mean i need to trim to the point of getting some blood? or is there blood in the part of the toenail that one can safely trim off (i didn't think there's blood in there??)? i would be interested in knowing what she got, so if getting a PCR test isn't cost prohibitive, i would love to find a lab to do that. thanks in advance!