Please can someone respond?? I'm so frustrated!

[meriruka]

Quote:
I know that percussive maintenance works for fixing toasters, but for chickens??

 

[farmsister]

Thank you so much everyone. Her poo is back to normal tonight, but it is like she has club feet. I picked her up and when I rub her underbelly, back by her legs underneath, she moves both legs back in and curls her feet and squawks a bunch. It is weird.

I am just hopeful it will work itself out. Geez.

 

[zatsdeb]

I have a hen that caught her leg in the fence between a gate and the fence and she limped and hopped on one leg for a while, I put her in the "nursery" pen for a few days and she eventually got better, think she pulled something trying to get out.
she is fine now.

 

[mypicklebird]

It is possible she has Marek's disease- classic Marek's is progressive paralysis of the legs, and often tail and wings. They usually eat and drink well, but cannot walk. If you have ruled out broken bones or pelvis as the reason she cannot walk, then Marek's should be suspected. It can show up as a variety of syndromes, but the down bird that still eats and drinks well, is often Marek's. If you end up culling or if she gets worse suddenly and passes on her own- consider having her checked out by the state lab (call your local poultry extension or state vet for info on that). Then you will know for sure- as if you have Marek' s in your flock- you will want to make sure you either purchase only vaccinated chicks or start vaccinating them if you hatch your own.
There are LOTS of threads on Mareks' on this site. It comes up alot.

 

[dlhunicorn]

classic stance for Mareks is one leg out in front/one in back... she will either recover or not... it could be many things
It may also be/incombination with a decificiency >see here:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/206930.htm

 

[beautifulbirds]

Hi there, I'm thinking a leg injury of some sort. Runny poo means she has something gastric going on. You need to isolate her from the others and get some wheatgrass juice from your juice bar, get an eye dropper and give her three good squirts down her throat. Keep her protein up by giving her some chopped meat, bread soaked in water and some fresh sliced greens. The next day steep about 10 cloves of garlic in some hot water, when it is cool pour the 'garlic water' off into a clean jar and give her three squirts of the garlic water straight down her throat (keep the jar in the fridge). The next night give her wheatgrass juice again and the following night give her the garlic water. MAintain fresh water in her pen at all times and continue with the food as described. Make sure she has access to dirt and oyster grit at all times. You will need to keep her penned probably for 2-3 weeks if the injury is really bad. Hope this helps. As for your pecking, an adult bird needs at least a minimum of 4 square feet of foraging room. So you have to look at how many birds you have penned and for how long. Two roosters means you need to have a minimum of twenty hens; sounds like you need to give at least one of them away. Look at your run, if it is not big enough then you need to extend it and if you can't do that then base the number of birds on the amount of square footage in the run. Do they free range at all, it is much healthier for them if they can.
Good luck, email me if you need anything else.

 

[meriruka]

Quote:
Wow! I'm impressed by that advice, I'll bet you've got some really healthy chickens. I admit I feel like a country bumpkin...I've never seen a juice bar and have no idea what wheatgrass juice tastes like......I've got to start traveling again.

 

[farmsister]

Well the latest is that she is moving around a little better but the egg laying thing is so bizarre.

She lays a hard dense "shell" like material, then later in the day passes a "soft" celled egg in a long shape.

Still runny poo...

 

[77horses]

mmm....maybe it's mareks disease? I have read some about it...try looking it up.

and I'm so sorry about your poor chicken.

I hope she gets better soon!

 

[Cetawin]

I would get rid of that cedar bedding...even though she cannot eat it, it is the oil from it that is toxin to their respiratory system....in other words the fumes from the natural oil.

Sounds like she is doing better though which is great.