Today 1/2/26 - 6 month old Brahma wobbly/down

[seven possums]

Went out this morning and found her sitting/semi-squatting on the floor of the coop.
Falls forward if we try to stand her up. Skin temp is warm.
Has not started laying. Vent area normal, belly feels okay, don't feel a stuck egg or the like.
No obvious other symptoms - no wounds, clear eyes/nares, breathing sounds ok, not panting, feet look fine.
Seems alert - eyes open, making small confused noises, looking around.
Currently seems to be standing/squatting in a towel nest in the bathtub.

Other 4 hens seem OK. It's been stupid cold here in MA, brought her inside.
There's a thermal panel inside the coop & the run has wind blocking panels around the lower 2.5 ft and haypiles to nestle in, they go in the coop if they decide they're too cold.
Keeping their water available has been challenging with this windy cold, the heaters can't keep up; been going out to break the ice a few times a day but wondering if dehydration is an issue here.
(Hard to tell if skin is tenting.)

(Spouse has been doing the chicken care for the past several days, I'm sick with flu/covid/something, fever has me too dizzy to walk around, so I haven't physically been out to keep the ice broken out or seen her until he brought her inside.)

She ate some solid coconut oil from my hand after I swiped her beak with it. Has some fight in her, I take that as a good sign.
Gave calcium. She has food & water, doesn't seem interested. Tried dipping her beak in water briefly. Crop feels small.
She is the bottom of the pecking order for whatever that's worth and possibly could be getting bullied out of enough food, she won't defend herself. Normally very antsy/nervous temperament. Could she be dehydrated?

Flock diet: H2O w/rooster booster, Chick crumble+Layer pellets, oystershell, leafy greens, occasional dried bugs as training treats. Forage outside the run when weather allows, supervised only. Coconut oil in winter. Occasional shells & all scrambled egg, esp if someone seems a little off.
Flock = 2 ~4 year olds, 3 ~6 month olds integrated in September. Nobody laying right now.

Thinking to offer her warm scrambled egg since she voluntarily went for the coconut oil (after she knew what it was).
Any thoughts appreciated. Trying to get her in with the last vet around here that sees birds.
Thanks.

 

[CCsGarden]

Sounds like she may have eaten something? Hoe does her crop feel? Can you post of picture of her so I can see how she is standing?

How do her droppings look?

 

[seven possums]

Crop feels empty. Not great.
She hasn't pooped in the tub yet that I can see, also not a great sign.
Gave a few CCs of water with Vit B, a few with chick-rescue electrolyte stuff in it, all by syringe.
Didn't go for the egg except for a few bits hand-fed.
When I stand her up she lists to her left side and starts flapping wings trying to keep her balance.
Standing, best pic I could get.

 

[CCsGarden]

View attachment 4276041Crop feels empty. Not great.
She hasn't pooped in the tub yet that I can see, also not a great sign.
Gave a few CCs of water with Vit B, a few with chick-rescue electrolyte stuff in it, all by syringe.
Didn't go for the egg except for a few bits hand-fed.
When I stand her up she lists to her left side and starts flapping wings trying to keep her balance.
Standing, best pic I could get.

Okay, that shows me a lot! Thanks! Looks like she could have botulism or an egg stuck very high. Has she laid her first egg yet?

 

[seven possums]

Not laying yet, no.
(Though none of them are right now.)
Gave calcium +D earlier in case of a high stuck egg.
They haven't been out of the run into the yard for weeks so not sure what she could have found to eat that the others didn't.
Her toes aren't curled, she can grip my fingers with them.

 

[CCsGarden]

Not laying yet, no.
(Though none of them are right now.)
Gave calcium +D earlier in case of a high stuck egg.
They haven't been out of the run into the yard for weeks so not sure what she could have found to eat that the others didn't.
Her toes aren't curled, she can grip my fingers with them.

Okay. Hmmmmm.....
Maybe at @Eggcessive can help?

 

[seven possums]

Thank you, really appreciate your help. I don’t want to lose her
@Wyorp Rock any ideas?

 

[Eggcessive]

How much calcium with d did you give and when? I would aim for 300-600 mg orally and if it has been 24 hours, give it again. I usually offer some water chicken feed or watery egg when I want one to drink. In winter, I take out water twice a day in rubber bowls, and dump it if it freezes. Maybe your husband could bring her inside to a cool area so that you can observe her better.

 

[seven possums]

Thank you — Gave 400mg cal-cit/D when we got her inside, have had her in the tub til he took her to the vet. She’s going to be inside for a bit in a dog crate.

Vet did physical exam, thinks it’s neurological.
No stuck egg, no sour crop (almost nothing in there to sour ).
She did poop while there; firm brown, white cap, good size.

They gave her an anti-inflammatory and said palliative care: take her home, keep syringe feeding water, warm pellet mash, cooked egg, vit B etc as we did today.
(Obvs. quarantine, already done by bringing her in)

The flock she came from doesn’t have this going on - I contacted the farm we got the three pullets from back in Sept. No Marek’s there.

She might be perking up a bit after I syringe-watered her; she’s preening and just now had something to say, registering a complaint I expect.

Thank you again, I’m sick as a dog but we’re doing everything we can, losing her is not how we want this year to start.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry about your hen, how old is she?

I sure hope you start feeling better soon

I'm glad you were able to see the vet. It does sound like it may be neurological, but if she's dehydrated, then some of the symptoms you are seeing could be related to that as well as possible having a hard time with an egg. I understand she's not in lay at the moment, but this time of year after the Solstice is when a lot of hens do start to come back into lay, so giving the Calcium is a very good idea to see if it makes a difference.

I'd definitely work on hydration. If you have electrolytes, alternate those with plain water.
With this possibly being neurological, I'd treat as such giving 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily along with some egg.
Wet mushy feed is good to give.

If she's off feed, then at this point, enticing her with just about anything can often be helpful. Sick birds seem to like bits of tomato, egg, melon...you can try small amount of just about anything really.

Does she have any lice or mites? Any chance the vet did a fecal float to rule out worms?
I know it's a lot for you being so sick, hopefully your Hubby can hang in there and help too.