- May 20, 2012
- 5
- 0
- 7
I have a ten-week-old Pullet who cants stand up on her own. I don't know what breed she is, as the crate od chicks at Tractor Supply was simply labeled "misc pullets." She is black but that's all I can say for breed.
She's part of a flock of 11, and the other 10 all look, act, and otherwise seem perfectly healthy. Several weeks ago, I noticed that all of them were filling in very nicely with their feathers, including the one other black one. But this one, who we call Sicky Chicky, seemed really scruffy and ugly compared to the rest. I thought she might have been getting picked on and getting feathers pulled, but never saw any pecking and have never seen any blood, scabs, or other signs of abuse.
Two weeks ago, I found her wobbling around, like she couldn't get her balance. She would sit down with one leg out in front of her. I checked here on the forums and every answer about hens not standing seemed to point to Marak's. I immediately separated her from the flock and have cared for her in isolation ever since.
She doesn't seem to have any "paralysis," though. Both legs move fine, but she falls to the side a lot. I tried to supplement,her diet and have given her scrambled or hard boiled eggs twice a day, added a mash of yogurt and corn meal, chopped up strawberries, blueberries, and melon, and added poultry vitamin drops to her water. With the new diet, she seemed better almost immediately and was walking around within a day. She still seemed weak, though, and would tire easily. Her feathers started to fill in and she looks beautiful now. She does seems really itchy and pecks around her body a lot, but I've never seen any bugs or mites on her.
After a couple of weeks of steady improvement, the last two days, she hasn't been able to stand at all. She lies on her side, with her legs kicking like she can't control them, with one wing outspread to support her. The kicking makes her just spin in a circle, and now she has a raw spot on her ribs from the area rubbing on the ground. She still eats with gusto and seems to feel fine otherwise.
So, is this a really slow outcome with Marak's (which it doesn't seem to be based on everything I've found so far) or a nutritional deficiency or botulism or what? I would have expected at least one other pullet to show similar symptoms if it was Marak's or botulism from wet food in the coop going bad. My husband keeps saying I should euthanize her since she isn't getting getter, but it seems wrong when she's perky, hungry, and trying to move around.
Any and all advice is welcome. Thank you in advance!
She's part of a flock of 11, and the other 10 all look, act, and otherwise seem perfectly healthy. Several weeks ago, I noticed that all of them were filling in very nicely with their feathers, including the one other black one. But this one, who we call Sicky Chicky, seemed really scruffy and ugly compared to the rest. I thought she might have been getting picked on and getting feathers pulled, but never saw any pecking and have never seen any blood, scabs, or other signs of abuse.
Two weeks ago, I found her wobbling around, like she couldn't get her balance. She would sit down with one leg out in front of her. I checked here on the forums and every answer about hens not standing seemed to point to Marak's. I immediately separated her from the flock and have cared for her in isolation ever since.
She doesn't seem to have any "paralysis," though. Both legs move fine, but she falls to the side a lot. I tried to supplement,her diet and have given her scrambled or hard boiled eggs twice a day, added a mash of yogurt and corn meal, chopped up strawberries, blueberries, and melon, and added poultry vitamin drops to her water. With the new diet, she seemed better almost immediately and was walking around within a day. She still seemed weak, though, and would tire easily. Her feathers started to fill in and she looks beautiful now. She does seems really itchy and pecks around her body a lot, but I've never seen any bugs or mites on her.
After a couple of weeks of steady improvement, the last two days, she hasn't been able to stand at all. She lies on her side, with her legs kicking like she can't control them, with one wing outspread to support her. The kicking makes her just spin in a circle, and now she has a raw spot on her ribs from the area rubbing on the ground. She still eats with gusto and seems to feel fine otherwise.
So, is this a really slow outcome with Marak's (which it doesn't seem to be based on everything I've found so far) or a nutritional deficiency or botulism or what? I would have expected at least one other pullet to show similar symptoms if it was Marak's or botulism from wet food in the coop going bad. My husband keeps saying I should euthanize her since she isn't getting getter, but it seems wrong when she's perky, hungry, and trying to move around.
Any and all advice is welcome. Thank you in advance!
