The EMERGENCY Thread!!!

[Doity Boyds]

New Emergency: Chicken struggles to walk properly

Here is a link to the thread we made about our chicken who cant seem to walk properly.
The description, pics and a video is in the thread, any help is greatly appreciated

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1150112/chicken-cant-walk-properly-please-help#post_17995439

Cheers!

 

[chickengr]

New Emergency: Chicken struggles to walk properly

Here is a link to the thread we made about our chicken who cant seem to walk properly.
The description, pics and a video is in the thread, any help is greatly appreciated

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1150112/chicken-cant-walk-properly-please-help#post_17995439

Cheers!

vegemite has too much salt. give her some boiled egg which is packed with vitamins and minerals.

how old is she? can it be a laying issue?

more details would help us understand better.

 

[Doity Boyds]

vegemite has too much salt. give her some boiled egg which is packed with vitamins and minerals.

how old is she? can it be a laying issue?

more details would help us understand better.

Thanks, will do. We were cautious on the vegemite, only used a little bit on 1 piece of toast between 3 chickens (some was uneaten too).

She is 21 weeks old as mentioned in the thread but is not laying yet, the other birds (all same age and breed) haven't laid either. They are ISA Brown x New Hampshire.

We basically want to find out if its a deficiency, injury (hip/leg/foot), or parasite.
Not sure if there was an injury, its a little bit clumsy.

We will update our thread with better quality pics soon too.

Let me know if there's any other info that can help

 

[chickengr]

Thanks, will do. We were cautious on the vegemite, only used a little bit on 1 piece of toast between 3 chickens (some was uneaten too).

She is 21 weeks old as mentioned in the thread but is not laying yet, the other birds (all same age and breed) haven't laid either. They are ISA Brown x New Hampshire.

We basically want to find out if its a deficiency, injury (hip/leg/foot), or parasite.
Not sure if there was an injury, its a little bit clumsy.

We will update our thread with better quality pics soon too.

Let me know if there's any other info that can help

unfortunately it could be anything. make sure she drinks and eats. drinking is more important. as long as they drink and eat there is a good chance of recovery.

if not vaccinated there is a possibility of marek's - I do hope it isn't. watch her and the others as well.

if she is about to start laying she might be in pain. baby aspirin can help if in pain. I would give her yogurt/kefir every day till she gets better as calcium and good bacteria will help. I have recently had 2 red sex link hens who started to lay after their big molt. both were like your hen till they laid an egg. I treated them with aspirin, yogurt and boiled eggs. they didn't eat a lot before laying an egg but after they did they returned to normal.

sorry for the delayed reply but there is time difference between us.

 

[microchick]

I have a 7 month old half Lavender Orpington, half Buff Orpington pullet that 2 days ago, I found laying on the floor in a corner of the coop under the nesting boxes. Baby has always been small in comparison with her father who died last summer at a year of age of what looked like Sudden Death Syndrome. We weighed her last week and she weighed 2lbs, 16 ounces. When I found her in what appeared to be a shocked condition, we weighed her and her weight was down 4 ounces. She has not reached POL. When she gets down off the roosts to eat, drink or go outside, the rooster is determined to mate her and I suspect that had something to do with the condition I discovered her in. Lately I have been making it a point to hand feed her holding a bowl up for her to make sure that she did eat and she would wait till I came on the scene in the morning to fly down to get a drink so I could protect her.

Since I found her, I bought her into the house. Rooster Booster probiotics and vitamins in her water along with some Terramycin. She seemed cold/shocky, not wanting to open her eyes. I used a stylette to get fluid into her. Put her in a pet carrier in our shop. When she was slow to respond, I brought her in the house and she began to perk up and eat/drink. Last night she seemed like she was pulling out of, even ate half a scrambled egg, it but this morning she was back looking like a football with feathers, her head drawn in, fluffed up, refusing to open her eyes or lift her head. Trying to get a response from her I took her back out to the coop where she could see the other chickens and put her in my Broody pen so the roosters couldn't pester her and checked on her throughout the day. By 4 PM I thought she was dead. Sitting in the bedding, her head drawn in, her beak resting on the floor, her eyes closed. I bought her in the warm house again and for the past 5 hours every time I've checked her I expected to find her dead. I couldn't get her to move, open her eyes or do more than give a little whimper when I rubbed her neck. She appeared comatose. Out of the blue, an hour ago, I went out to check her and she was wide awake, still keeping her head drawn in but alert, and guzzling water. She even talked to me a little and ate sunflower seeds out of my hand, her favorite treat.

I have no idea what is going on with her but if I don't figure it out, she is going to die. She might anyway the way things are going. As I said. She is 7 months old from a June hatch last year. Her three brood sisters are healthy and laying, Buff O/Welsummer pullets. Her sire died of what looks like a sudden cardiac failure at 1 yr. I listened to her heart, sounds like a pretty normal heartbeat. Breathing normal. No discharge from nostrils or mouth. Crop is empty. No sign of egg binding. In fact her pelvis is very narrow for 7 months. No abdominal swelling, she appears thin (just finished running Corid through the flock) Skin around her eyes looks slightly pale but she is dehydrated. Stool was slightly loose at first but has firmed to normal. I haven't seen her pass stool since I put her out with the flock this morning. The only thing I've noticed out of the obvious symptoms is that she seems a bit unsteady on her feet when she does stand. She is the only one in a flock of 36 that is acting this way.

Am I looking at a genetic problem? Any ideas? Am I missing something or is this one of those weird cases of failure to thrive? If so, why now at POL?

Any help appreciated.

 

[aryehgill]

HELP!!!
4 of my hens have been very lethargic nd so has my roo the weather has changed severely here in illinois nd i need some ideas of what it could be and how to treat it so i dont end up losing some of them

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a 7 month old half Lavender Orpington, half Buff Orpington pullet that 2 days ago, I found laying on the floor in a corner of the coop under the nesting boxes. Baby has always been small in comparison with her father who died last summer at a year of age of what looked like Sudden Death Syndrome. We weighed her last week and she weighed 2lbs, 16 ounces. When I found her in what appeared to be a shocked condition, we weighed her and her weight was down 4 ounces. She has not reached POL. When she gets down off the roosts to eat, drink or go outside, the rooster is determined to mate her and I suspect that had something to do with the condition I discovered her in. Lately I have been making it a point to hand feed her holding a bowl up for her to make sure that she did eat and she would wait till I came on the scene in the morning to fly down to get a drink so I could protect her.

Since I found her, I bought her into the house. Rooster Booster probiotics and vitamins in her water along with some Terramycin. She seemed cold/shocky, not wanting to open her eyes. I used a stylette to get fluid into her. Put her in a pet carrier in our shop. When she was slow to respond, I brought her in the house and she began to perk up and eat/drink. Last night she seemed like she was pulling out of, even ate half a scrambled egg, it but this morning she was back looking like a football with feathers, her head drawn in, fluffed up, refusing to open her eyes or lift her head. Trying to get a response from her I took her back out to the coop where she could see the other chickens and put her in my Broody pen so the roosters couldn't pester her and checked on her throughout the day. By 4 PM I thought she was dead. Sitting in the bedding, her head drawn in, her beak resting on the floor, her eyes closed. I bought her in the warm house again and for the past 5 hours every time I've checked her I expected to find her dead. I couldn't get her to move, open her eyes or do more than give a little whimper when I rubbed her neck. She appeared comatose. Out of the blue, an hour ago, I went out to check her and she was wide awake, still keeping her head drawn in but alert, and guzzling water. She even talked to me a little and ate sunflower seeds out of my hand, her favorite treat.

I have no idea what is going on with her but if I don't figure it out, she is going to die. She might anyway the way things are going. As I said. She is 7 months old from a June hatch last year. Her three brood sisters are healthy and laying, Buff O/Welsummer pullets. Her sire died of what looks like a sudden cardiac failure at 1 yr. I listened to her heart, sounds like a pretty normal heartbeat. Breathing normal. No discharge from nostrils or mouth. Crop is empty. No sign of egg binding. In fact her pelvis is very narrow for 7 months. No abdominal swelling, she appears thin (just finished running Corid through the flock) Skin around her eyes looks slightly pale but she is dehydrated. Stool was slightly loose at first but has firmed to normal. I haven't seen her pass stool since I put her out with the flock this morning. The only thing I've noticed out of the obvious symptoms is that she seems a bit unsteady on her feet when she does stand. She is the only one in a flock of 36 that is acting this way.

Am I looking at a genetic problem? Any ideas? Am I missing something or is this one of those weird cases of failure to thrive? If so, why now at POL?

Any help appreciated.

Keep her separated like you are doing and offer some poultry vitamins in her water. When you described her the first thing that came to mind was Cocci, but you have given the flock a round of Corid. You may want to take her fecal sample in to see if she has an overload. She may not have consumed enough to be effective if it was in the general flock's water and you mention she's dehydrated.

Another possibility is one of the roosters may have injured her. If she is small for her age, she may have been "crushed" for the lack of a better word. Those BO boys are large and if she is not ready to be mounted, then she may have been chased/dragged/jumped on. It happens. If it's injury, it will take some time for her to heal. Giving the extra protien like egg or tuna in addition to her normal feed is a good idea. If you have some all flock/flock raiser or chick starter you can mix some of that in as well.

Genetics can play a part, so that can't be completely ruled out, but I would look at injury or cocci first. Keep her hydrated. If you do feel you need to re-treat her with Corid, then give vitamins after you finish treatment, not during. Also add some yogurt/probiotics when you finish.

Keep us posted.

HELP!!!
4 of my hens have been very lethargic nd so has my roo the weather has changed severely here in illinois nd i need some ideas of what it could be and how to treat it so i dont end up losing some of them

Welcome to BYC

Can you give us some more information and photos?
What type of food/treats do you feed?
How old are your hens and rooster?
You mention weather change - is it colder/rainy/hot/ etc?
What other symptoms do they have besides being lethargic - runny nose, watery eyes, coughing, sneezing, etc.?
Have they had access to any spoiled, moldy or rotten food/feed?
How are they housed - coop/run/free range, etc. How much ventilation in their coop?

Chickens need quite a bit of water in winter time, make sure they are staying hydrated.

Let us know how they are doing.

 

[aryehgill]

@Wyorp RockMy hens and roo are almost a year old nd the weather has changed to cold with a little bit of snow and rain water is readily available coop has plenty ventilation they are just kind of layin around and eat layer feed i only have given m fresh fruits and veggies i dont nk moldy treats r the thi mg i have never given them anything like that what kind of antibiotics could i use they just act sickly is the best way to describe it all but one hen who seems to be fine just worried about the rest could it possibly be from wild birds the area

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@Wyorp Rock My hens and roo are almost a year old nd the weather has changed to cold with a little bit of snow and rain water is readily available coop has plenty ventilation they are just kind of layin around and eat layer feed i only have given m fresh fruits and veggies i dont nk moldy treats r the thi mg i have never given them anything like that what kind of antibiotics could i use they just act sickly is the best way to describe it all but one hen who seems to be fine just worried about the rest could it possibly be from wild birds the area

Can you take one to a vet?

A vet can perform a fecal test to check for worms, cocci or bacterial infection. If you feel they have contracted something from wild birds in your area, testing would be necessary to determine course of treatment.

Is it possible they are staying inside to avoid cold weather, wind and rain?

 

[microchick]

Thanks Wyorp Rock. I just peeked in on her. She's standing up, happy as a lark at the moment, happily chowing down on Game Bird finisher and sunflower seeds. I'm baffled. 5 hours ago I was contemplating having to put her down now I just asked her if she was pushing to be our first house chicken. I did have the fleeting thought that maybe she was injured by The Rock. Trust me, he lives up to that name. I pressed around on her, couldn't find anything obvious, but she sure has been for want of a better word, stuporous since I found her so a crushing injury may be the answer. That rooster loves his hens but just a little too much if you get my drift..

My plan is to keep her in until I can get her built back up, hopefully that will happen. I am feeding Game Bird Finisher to my flock. They just hold their weight better with the higher protein. Keep giving her extra protein-egg and the like. Since she is small, my plan was to move her into my bantam pen with my 4 bantams. Unless something miraculous happens that makes her grow into the 6 pound hen I was expecting her to grow into, the bantam boys may be more her speed. I will repeat the Corid while I have her inside. Think I'll wait a few days until I feel a little more confident to hold her vitamins for treatment. May also treat her with Ivermectin while I'm at it once she is stronger just to cover all the bases.

I told my husband to go out and take a look at her. He did and announced that she looked like she had decided to live for the time being. I hope he's right. She is a pretty little red head with fluffy, long, partridge colored feathers. The only chick her sire fathered before he died.