Please Help Muffin!! UPDATE: HE IS BETTER!

[lockedhearts]

Muffin is my Bantam EE Rooster, he lives with his girlfriend in a 4 x 4 cage off the ground. Back in January when it got so cold, I found Muffin shaking so he and Mort came into the barn and lived in a dog cage with a light, he seemed to be ok, although he was a little unsteady the first couple of days after I found him. I moved him and Mort (GF) back outside and added a light to their cage. I put 3 other Bantam hens in with them when I moved all the chickens from the barn. They bickered but seemed to be getting along. Yesterday, I noticed Muffin was laying down a lot, I did not see anything wrong so thought maybe it was the cooler weather that was coming in.
This morning I went out and Muffin was on his back, he is shaking again and seems to not have good control of his legs. I moved him back to the cage in the barn and put a light on him, he is biting me, something he never does, so I am thinking he is in pain. His legs seem uncontrollable and stiff (like sticking straight out) I got him sat up in the corner and he did eat and drink. I have Poly Vi Sol I can give him and and am going to cook some eggs and have yogurt I can add.
I have no clue what happened or what is going on. A couple days ago He was a little unsteady, I checked and saw a couple mites, so I dusted him and the girls, he seemed fine for a couple days now this. He has been dusted before with the same stuff.


This is how he sits:

I physically stood him up, his whole body was shaking

Sitting again

 

[MikasGirl]

I have no idea, but BUMP

 

[lockedhearts]

UPDATE: Muffin seems no better. Gave Vitamins again, have ACV in his water. He is eating, but keeps falling over on his side and can't get up, when he sits, his legs are stiff and sometimes shake uncontrollably. I really need some help here.

 

[Pumpkinpup]

Karen, I am so sorry Muffin is not doing well! I have no clue what to tell you to do other than what you are already doing but maybe someone else will see this post and have had experience with something like it.

 

[lockedhearts]

I hope so too! But no one else seems to want to post on this so just doing what I am doing and hoping for the best.

 

[AHappychick]

How old is he?

I would try treating him as if he has Mareks

I pill of 30 hypericum perforatum (st johns wart) dissolved in a teaspoon of DISTILLED water in a plastic cup. Do not let any metal or your fingers touch the pill or the liquid at any time or it will not work. Must be distilled water for the same reason. Then I usually suck some up into a clean straw and put my finger on one end of the straw to keep in then open up beak and get at least 5 drops or so on tongue so that when birds mouth closes it hits the nasal cavity above the tongue. Do not squirt down throat as it needs to be more in the moth than in the crop. this can not hurt him so it is worth a try. you can get some in a natual food/drug store

Do this in morning and evening with new batch of med.

in addition I would prop him up or make a sling for him that will allow his feat to touch the ground in the correct position and with food and water with in easy reach for him. you can do so by cutting up a old t-shirt and trying it to the bars of the cage he is in.

I would mix up a probiotic mash of equal parts of:
real yogurt, starter feed, shredded apples, buttermilk or pedialite, poly-vi-sol, vitamin e capsule squeezed in, and the yolk only of a hard boiled egg (I say yolk cause the white just adds more stuff with very little nutrition.

Make the pro biotic and store the extra in fridge (lasts about 2 days maybe 3 before you have to make up more. If he seems uninterested in eating sprinkle a bit of scratch on top of mash while he is looking at it to peak his interest and get him eating it.


good luck

 

[lockedhearts]

Quote:
He is about 9 or 10 months old.
Thanks will try that, I have to get some distilled water anyway for my mare milk test kit, I have poly vi sol, which he has been getting along with scrambled egg, yogurt and crumbles mixed together.

 

[AHappychick]

its very possible at that age that it is Mareks, looks like he is fighting it and I think if you continue to treat in time he will get better. Nerves take a while to heal and Mareks causes swelling and wounds the nerves causing partial or somtimes full paralysis depending on which nerves it is attacking. It could take a month or more but with the proper support I have seen them heal and be totally normal again.

One indication are his eyes they sometimes will change with Mareks, is one iris mishapen or gray?

 

[MikasGirl]

I was going to say Mareks. We had a chick that we are pretty sure got Mareks and that is how he always sat. We kept him comfortable and had to feed him mash but he eventually passed awya. We were inexperienced so I don't know if there is anything you can do, but hopefully there is. Good luck.

 

[lockedhearts]

Quote:
His eyes look as they always have to me. I just need to do everything to save him, my husband is extremely attached to him.