Partridge Plymouth Rock listless, laying on her right side, right wing drooping, trouble walking....

[MacTech]

I have a very sick PPR hen here, she has the following symptoms;

Large mass right below her chin to the right, looks and feels like a golf ball under the feathers
Her head is usually cocked/pivoted to the right.
Right wing is not held tight against her body, it's drooping
Difficulty walking, she stumbles with an obvious limp, the right leg seems draggy
The right foot has difficulty grasping
She sits in a more upright position, her entire chest area puffed out
She's unusually quiet and calm, and she lets me pick her up, pet her, and look her over with no complaints or struggle, this is completely different from her normal behavior
She's quiet, barely clucking, she's normally very chatty
She's been sitting on my bed now for almost an hour now, and has barely moved, she's only shifted position

As I type this right now, she's starting to nestle down a bit, yet the growth on her neck and the dragging right wing are still manifesting, she has pecked at the bedspread inquisitively a couple of times, but she's not as lively as she was, for lack of a better term, she seems almost depressed...

Since temperatures are supposed to drop to almost -30 Fahrenheit tonight, and she was lying on the hay in the barn by herself, as well as being picked on by the other hens, I've brought her into the house, to keep her warm, safe and try to help her recouperate

The droopy wing and foot dysfunction issues make me suspect a stroke, not sure what the growth is

I'm uploading a video to YouTube that shows what I'm talking about, will add the link when it's done uploading

 

[Eggcessive]

I would suspect that it could be Mareks disease, but don't take that as a diagnosis. Dragging a leg, a wing drooping, a possible tumor on the neck sound like it. I would get some poultry vitamins and add to her water or food, since some neurological problems can be from vitamin deficiencies. Are you certain the mass below the neck is not a full crop? A crop should feel full in the evening, but empty by morning before she eats. Make sure that she is taking liquids, and in adxition to her chicken feed, offer hef some scrambled egg. As always with a sick chicken, make sure that she has no lice or mites on her skin. Has she been wormed recently?

 

[MacTech]

[VIDEO]

check with Dover Agway tomorrow to see if they ordered vaccinated chicks, that's where I got them

No lice, mites, and no, none have been wormed, they have been inside their barn (unheated) and until today, all have been healthy

 

[Eggcessive]

Do the eyes look normal to you without the camera? In the video, the eyes looks white in 90%of the time, but then occasional, you can see them looking normal. The white doesn't appear to be the 3rd eyelid, but maybe it is just a light reflex from the camera lighting. Most feed stores don't sell vaccinated chicks, but your store may be an exception.

 

[MacTech]

Eyes are normal, this morning there was no change in her condition, sadly

 

[MacTech]

I called Agway, they don't buy vaccinated chicks, I described the symptoms, and they said symptoms sound like impacted/slow crop, I'm researching what to do, looks like getting moisture into her system will help soften the impaction, I'm thinking soft cooked scrambled egg with some vegetable oil on it couldn't hurt

 

[Eggcessive]

Her crop may be impacted or slow. Did it feel full early this morning? It is normal to be full in the evening, and sometimes during an illness, the crop can be slow emptying. She has more going on than just a crop problem with the symptoms you have described, with the drooping wing and dragging leg. I agree the mass under the neck may be the crop.

 

[MacTech]

I had an opportunity to inspect her much closer tonight

She's still uncharacteristically calm and docile, to the point she will doze off to sleep while sitting on my leg
Both wings are now dragging
Both feet are clenching more than they are flat
When sitting on a flat soft surface, she leans back until she's nearly vertical, then occasionally tips over, struggles to right herself
She occasionally has spasms, her head shaking, usually for less than 5 seconds, and rarely occur

The "lump" is actually her neck, she keeps her head retracted to her body, and her neck is curved in a tight "S"

Her crop appears normal, actually empty...

She has not drank or eaten since last night, but does not seem to be showing signs of pain or stress

When I was inspecting her, I noticed that when I touched an area close to her left shoulder, she showed signs of mild pain

I'm stumped, I'm keeping her warm and safe, and offering food (she refused scrambled egg tonight) but no response, I'm just glad she's not in the barn getting picked on by the rest of the flock, she would have nobody to huddle with, and the air temps tonight are 13 degrees Fahrenheit, and we're supposed to be getting a multiple day snowstorm here in Maine

I don't want to sound heartless here, but she's not a pet, she's livestock, I treat my flock well, and try to do the right things for them, but they have jobs, they're not pets, they keep the bugs under control in the summer, and provide eggs year round, I'm on a limited budget and can't afford exorbitant vet bills, if it comes down to a long, drawn out, painful existence, or putting her down humanely with a minimum of suffering, that may be my unpleasant duty.

Don't misunderstand me, I most emphatically want her to recover, and rejoin the flock, she's a great hen, I just want to make the right decision for her, euthanasia is a last resort, the absolutely last resort.

 

[Eggcessive]

It would be important to your other and future chickens if she dies, to get a necropsy done by the state vet, in case of Mareks. In some states it is free, some charge a minimal fee, and I'm not sure that Maine has a state vet. A call to a local vet to ask about food animal safety officials would get the info needed to contact them. I still would put her on vitamins, especially B complex or poultry vitamins.

 

[OnlyOrps]

Hope she recovers! I don't know enough to guess what it could be but I am rooting for her!