Possible chicken stroke - any advice?

[Heatherbbb]

Hi, i have a flock of 8 chickens and 7 days ago on a very hot day i found our leghorn keeled over on one side and unable to get up. We gave her more food and water and left her in the run for a few more hours but one of the other chickens attacked her wing and pulled out numerous feathers. We seperated her and she is currently in a large dog crate in the house. She is about a year and half old and has been a great layer with no other health problems until now. She has regained her appetite and is eating and drinking but seems to still be unable to use one side of her body and just flops over. I added vitamins to her water. I suspect it is a stroke due to the loss of use of one side but i really dont know. This happened about 8 days ago. The other chickens in thenflock seems to all be healthy and fine. Does anyone have any advice on what it could be or if there is anything we can do for her? Thank you

 

[silkiemother]

yeah probaly heatstroke.

 

[Heatherbbb]

If it was heat stroke shouldnt we have seem some improvement over the last 8 days? One of her legs is curled under her but it has no visible injury and she is unable to use it...thank you for your reply! I have small kids who are very attached to her (i am too), so we want to do everything we can for her...

 

[coach723]

There are multiple possibilities. This bird may have an underlying condition that made it more susceptible to the heat, or the heat and related stress caused an underlying condition to surface. Marek's disease comes to mind. There are other virus's that can show similar symptoms to Marek's, like lymphoid leukosis. Vitamin supplementing, especially with the B's is a good idea, also E and selenium, many vitamin deficiencies can have neuromuscular symptoms. Initially electrolites can help if it's heat related, but after 8 days that is probably not going to help. If an avian vet is not an option, then supportive care as you are doing is best.
Here are some links that may help:
https://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/heat-exhaustion-in-chickens.html
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/
If your bird does not recover then getting a necropsy done would be a good idea, so that you know for sure what happened and if there are any risks to the rest of your flock. Anytime there is paralysis involved it's a very good idea to have the necropsy and associated labs done.
Here are some resources by state for future reference:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm
I'm sorry, that may be difficult especially for children to understand. In the meantime a chicken sling may make her more comfortable to help her stay upright while you see if there is any improvement:

 

[Heatherbbb]

thank you so much for all this info! I just fed her and discovered there are now mites in the cage with her - any ideas on what i should do about those too? I have small kids around and a dog and am worried that the mites could spread....

 

[lilmillefleur]

You should not worry about mites on people or other animals, but it's bad for chickens. You should try using some Permethrin spray.
@KikisGirls had a good pic of the kind she uses but I am no expert myself...

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your chicken. You have received good advice from Coach723. Make sure what you are dealing with by doing some reading about lice and mites. Permethrin liquid or garden dust is very good to use for either mites or lice. Mites can kill. Treat every 7-10 days at least twice, and treat your coop, nests, and roosts after first removing and destroying all bedding. Can you place the dog crate back in the coop until you get the lice or mites under control? Here is some good reading about lice and mites:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8162.pdf