The link above is a link to a Facebook video I took 10 days ago of my female Golden Laced Polish, "Pinky Pie." This was when she could still walk, though she was having difficulties.
I got these chickens, my first chickens ever, as 3 day old chicks in March of this year (2013). Pinky Pie, the Golden Laced Polish in the video above, had trouble standing even as a baby. I thought she was dizzy or had problems due to her vaulted skull (the Polish breed). She would regularly stagger, then fall off the chick feeder, but I thought it was baby chick sleepiness/clumsiness. As she got older, she would get tired easily and once she got to where food was, she would lay down next to it and peck it.
About 2 weeks ago (age 7 months old), she started having more and more trouble walking, and her feet seemed to be hitting the ground more forcefully. I could hear her feet smack the ground when she walked.
Then over the weekend, it got cold (40 degrees F) and she took a turn for the worse, and couldn't stand. She would push the ground with one leg and flap the opposite wing to get around. We had her in the house where she contentedly lay on her side, gobbling up fresh corn and her feed and cuddling with the kids as they watched TV. I told the kids we didn't know what was wrong but we knew she had always been weird and we were probably saying goodbye to her. We put her back outside and made sure she got into the coop for the night but now it's 3 days later and she's still hanging in there with an awesome appetite.
The REALLY bad news is that yesterday morning, one of the other chickens, a Delaware (named Rarity) who has always been healthy and robust, hesitated coming out of her coop yesterday morning, and then limped all the way down the chicken ramp. This morning, her toes on one leg were curled under and she was having a lot of trouble walking... So whatever it is, it isn't just limited to Pinky Pie anymore.
And THAT is why I'm here posting on the Marek's thread. My sister is a vet, but not a chicken vet (although she does have chickens of her own) and she suggested it might be Marek's. When it was just one special needs chicken, I thought it was just one with problems, but now that another one is having issues, I'm really worried it's a virus or other disease.
Only ONE of my five 7-month-old chickens are laying, in case that is relevant. Our RIR (Apple Jack) started laying in mid-September. None of the others have laid yet, but due to their age they are all on layer feed. Help?
(I have 2 Polish, a Rhode Island Red, a Delaware and an Easter Egger).
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