Possible injury ?

[BruceAZ]

I don't know what is going when i saw my hen like this at 1:10PM, she was fine around 10AM today. I had two hens died overnight already (flock of 5) so I'm not sure if this will be the next one. She is my #1 layer in the flock :/

I don't know if this is some minor injury from jumping up and down....

Thanks for the assistance.


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I'm sorry everyone. I would like to clarify that the hens that died overnight were months ago--at different time.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/unknown-cause-of-death.1145166/page-3#post-19021294
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[Brahma Chicken5000]

Could be Marek’s Disease.

 

[imnukensc]

Not enough information to say it could be Marek's or anything else. My chickens often lie around like that so from what I see in the pictures it would just be normal behavior. Is she limping? Having trouble walking? Losing her balance? Need more info/symptoms.

 

[microchick]

@BruceAZ, I have to chime in on agreement with @Brahma Chicken5000. To loose two overnight and the third presenting with strange posturing with one leg rings suspiciously of Marek's disease. I always hate to tell folks that. I have it in my flock and a sudden weakness or lameness in one leg is a sign of Marek's paralysis.

She may pop out of it temporarily or if it is Marek's, continue to decline. In the mean time, it won't hurt to give the whole flock a vitamin and probiotic in their water and keep an eye on all of them. Rare, if it is Marek's to loose the whole flock. A few may survive for you but be carriers for life.

 

[ShiftyShickens]

would be some serious mareks to kill two girls and infect another all within a tiny time frame. typically mareks takes awhile to present itself and almost always shows key signs before the mortality rate starts picking up. partial or full paralysis, iris augmentation, and rough feather follicles are typically all key signs of infection. i urge you to inspect the hen thoroughly and not get anymore chickens until you can confirm what the cause is. i wish you and your girl much luck and hope all works out well.

 

[BruceAZ]

She's limping now, after lying/standing still for the last 2-3 hr. She started to eat and drink now. I think she will be ok, it's probably a sprained leg ???

 

[microchick]

Sorry to disagree with you but I lost 5 birds to sudden death from Marek's in a very short period of time.

This year, starting in February, I lost a bird a week. Some to cyanosis and breathing difficulties that happened overnight, some to neurological problems that happened within days and the 9 week old that I lost to scissor paralysis was gone in three days from day of onset. I have locked birds up at night healthy and happy and found one dead the next morning when I let them out. So it can happen.

I currently have three birds with ocular Marek's the last one developed a severe herpes infection in her eye literally in 24hours. She and the other two birds are still alive but for how long I do not know. I haven't lost a bird to Marek's since June of this year so I'm hoping that the initial infective phase is over my flock even though I know that Marek's will never be gone.

Yes, my Marek's is confirmed with the onset of the scissor paralysis but my retired eye doctor husband confirmed the herpes infections for me as being severe. Marek's is a herpes infection on steroids.

I would advise that unless you can nail down the symptoms with the disease about the only way you are going to have a firm diagnosis is with a necropsy. Of course that means having one done the next time a bird dies.

Until then, I wouldn't let any birds off my property if I suspected something bad like Mareks or even Lymphoid Leukosis.

 

[BruceAZ]

She will just lying there again :/

 

[microchick]

 

[rebrascora]

I agree with @microchick

I too have Marek's in my flock and have had sudden death from it as well as the more usual paralysis/inability to coordinate limbs.

@BruceAZ

Can you post footage of her trying to walk/move.... the video you posted is no more informative than a still shot! There is a notable difference between lameness where the bird is deliberately favouring a particular leg due to pain in the other and the clumsy floundering which indicates that the bird cannot control it's muscles.

Have you had these birds long and if so, have you added any new birds to the flock in the last 2-3months?