Sick or Hurt Hen???

[Nightingale]

Ohh, okay. I did not know that about the feed! I feel like such a dummy=[ They do get to free range and I knew about them needing grit. Hopefully changing her food and stuff will help. Thank you so much!

 

[reglisse]

Chicken 7 weeks stiff legs and funny droping wings, loss of balance.
I am new at raising meat chicken. I have 50 of them, all are vaccinated for Marek's disease (well supposedly). I am raising my second batch this year. Out of this last batch 3 chicken developed a funny gait at 6-7 weeks, with dropy wings. After a few days of isolation, heat, antibiotics, vitamins, no improvement in their condition. I have never seen these symptoms before. My sister has been raising chicken for many years. Should I destroy those birds?

 

[kathyinmo]

reglisse ....
Hey, welcome to BYC.
Can you please give us the following information. The more you tell us, the better we will be able to help you.

1) What type of bird , age and weight.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
3) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
4) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
5) What has the bird been eating (specifically, ie brand of feed and type, treats, etc) and drinking?
6) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
7) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
8 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
9) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
10) Describe the housing/ size and how many birds using it.
11) What kind of bedding in use?
12) Have you checked for lice / mites?
13) Have you wormed your birds?
14) When you hold your bird, does it feel heavy or light?

 

[Nightingale]

That's how my hen will sit except she doesn't have runny/droopy eyes.

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
Nightingale,
I sure hope that the change in food helps. They will really need the extra vitamins at this time also, I believe. Good luck!

 

[reglisse]

What type of bird , age and weight. No sneezing, no runny anything. bright sparking eyes, upper body moves quite well

Birds are Cornish White - 6 to 7 weeks . the sick ones are about 3 pounds compare to 5 for the rest

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Droopy wings, walk funny at first, difficulty in its gait

3) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No bleeding no trauma

4) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
Nothing to my knowledge, was OK until 7 days ago, eating, running as normal with the other chicken

5) What has the bird been eating (specifically, ie brand of feed and type, treats, etc) and drinking?
16% backyard meat chicken (veg) no meat product in food. Food inspected and approved by Canadian Agricultural Ministry. The water is the same as I drink, changed every day

6) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Poop a bit runny

7) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Tetracyclin and vitamins A, D and E, plus heat The symptomatic birds are isolated

8 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
goind to the vet... not really. I am curious to find out if it is a preventable condition

9) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help. Picture is on my message

10) Describe the housing/ size and how many birds using it.
cleaned straw inside. 14 x 14 feet for 50 birds

11) What kind of bedding in use?
just cut straw and wood chips

12) Have you checked for lice / mites?
No lices or mites

13) Have you wormed your birds?
no, since all the others are jumping with no problems

14) When you hold your bird, does it feel heavy or light? the weight was normal until 2 days ago, they are loosing weight

 

[Nightingale]

Here are some pics of Abby...
Her eyes seem to be normal

This is how she sits up

This is how she will lay on her side

and this is what her poop looks like now

 

[HidingInTheHenHouse]

Poop looks pretty normal, but maybe just a bit too green which means she isn't eating enough.

I'm sorry to say that she does look a lot like a chicken with Marek's. I've had a few of those in the past.

Get those vitamins going and the feed changed, then if no improvement after a week, I would say you are looking at Marek's. I've never had a bird recovery from that, and I've sure tried to.

 

[kathyinmo]

Nightingale:
I don't think it looks like Marek's, according to my "Chicken Health Handbook." It says in Marek's :
"the virus attacks various parts of a chicken's body, resulting in an array of symptoms - droopy wing, paralyzed leg, head held low, twisted neck, blindness, sudden death."
Symptoms: in chicks over 3 weeks old (most commonly 12 - 30 weeks) growing thin while eating well (most common form), deaths starting at 8 - 10 weeks.
-- in maturing birds (6 - 9 months): enlarged, reddened feather follicles or white bumps (tumors) on skin that scab over with a brown crust (skin form); stilted gair or lack of coordination, pale skin, wing or leg paralsis (involves nerves); when both legs are paralyzed, one points forward and the other points back under the body; sometimes rapid weight loss, gaping or gasping, transient paralysis lasting 1 - 2 days (pseudo-botulism form), dehydration, emaciation, coma; death due to inability to get to food and water or trampling by other chickens.
-- in breeds with reddish bay eyes: cloudy grayish, dilated irregular pupil ("gray eye," involves optic nerve); distorted or blinded eye.
-- in all ages: sudden death of apparently healthy birds.

 

[kingmt]

Quote:
I would have to guess but I would say heart failure. This isn't uncommon with these birds. I have seen them like this when they are raised with other healthy birds so I guess it is a genetic defect. Every Cornish X I have seen will die when they get like this. I just tossed mine when she died. If it is just one bird I wouldn't chance eating it. I also would vaccinate my meat birds. I wouldn't vaccinate any bird not alone a meat bird. It just doesn't make any sense to me to make a healthy bird sick. If you were a large operation & the disease was already there & I couldn't shout down to get rid of it would be the only reason to vaccinate.