Sick hen? need answers

[DJmiller]

I have a hen who is acting funny. She walks to the side a little bit with her head cocked to the side. She was fine yesterday and was walking normal. Then today I walked out and she was doing it again. I think it Mareks Disease but I'm not for sure. I have other hens who aren't acting like this. 1 or 2 may have runny poo. If anyone could help me out that would be great

 

[Eggcessive]

How old is she? She sounds like she has symptoms of wry neck, which can be a symptom of Mareks disease, but may also be a symptom of a vitamin deficiency, a head or neck injury, or certain infections that affect the brain. Most people give vitamins B1 thiamine, Vitamin E, and selenium, and try to reduce stimulation and noise. Poultry vitamins will contain most of those except selenium, and many foods contain selenium such as egg, chopped meat, tuna, salmon, nuts, and others. Poultry Nutri-Drench and Poultry Cell contain all three. Feeding can become a problem if the neck is twisted badly. Mareks disease is hard to diagnose, and may cause weakness or paralysis of one or both legs, wings, or the neck. I would give her a chance to see if it is wry neck. Here is some info: http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/Crookneck/Crookneck.html
http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

 

[DJmiller]

Can I get the vitamin supplements at a TSC? And if the vitamins don't work and it is mareks, does that cause pain?

 

[Eggcessive]

My TSC carries Poultry Nutri-Drench, Poultry Cell, and Rooster Booster vitamins for water or feed. I wouldn't jump to conclusions that it is Mareks yet. Wry neck is very common, and I would probably give her some time. Even if it were Mareks, many BYCers have flocks with chickens with Mareks who may survive, at least for some time. If you should lose her or put her down, I would recommend that you get a necropsy done by your state vet where you can find out a cause of death. Here is a link for your state vet: http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf

 

[DJmiller]

Ok. Thank you for all your help!

 

[DJmiller]

So just an update. Got some poultry nutri-drench just the other day and mixed it with the water. She wasn't getting better. So I looked at the nutri-drench bottle and I mixed it wrong. She wasn't getting near enough to actually have an effect on her. So I remixed it today to how the bottle said (or to my understanding). It was a dark brown when got done mixing it. I was kind of worried but I'm about positive that I mixed it right. So I'm hoping this works and she's all better.

 

[Eggcessive]

With the NutriDrench, it may be more economical to give it orally--1 to 3 ml daily by mouth. I use Powdered vitamins to add to water, such brands as Rooster Booster which are fairly inexpensive. The NutriDrench does contain selenium which is a plus. Is she still having the wry neck symptoms? Is she eating and drinking okay. Here is a good video on YouTube of a woman feeding her chicken with wry neck to get it to eat better if you want to watch it:

 

[DJmiller]

She eating and drinking fine.

 

[DJmiller]

Is the nutri-drench a pretty good choice of vitamin suppliment?

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes it is good, especially when a chicken is very sick, since it contains electrolytes, vitamins, and minerals, but it is expensive when you add it to water. The only thing I don't recommend it for is for riboflavin or B2 deficiency, since they for some reason left that one out. Poultry Cell by Rooster Booster is also good and similar. For vitamins only, the powder ones are easier on your wallet. But you need to add selenium in eggs, tuna, meat , or nuts, since most powder vitamins don't have selenium.