SpaceLamb
Songster
This past weekend we had to euthanize our four year old BO Laverne. She'd been sick for the better part of a year and got to a point where she could no longer walk so we knew it was time. Because her symptoms, especially towards the end, seemed somewhat in line with Marek's we drove her to a nearby veterinary college to have a necropsy done. We got the results back yesterday and they found absolutely nothing. While we're obviously relieved she didn't have Marek's we're just so confused about what was wrong with her.
About a year ago probably we noticed that she stopped to rest fairly frequently when the girls were let out of their run into the backyard. She'd walk around and peck for maybe 10/15 minutes and then would stop and lay down for a little bit before she'd jump back up and join the rest of the girls. Then her rests started getting longer - to the point where she'd spend a half hour just sitting there - and she'd start dropping her head down into the grass and basically just going to sleep. We called her our narcoleptic chicken but if you didn't know she was just sleeping you'd think she was just dead, face down in the grass. Then it got to the point where she could only stand/walk for a minute or so before she had to lay down. It almost seemed like she just didn't have the strength or energy to walk or keep her head up for long periods of time. When she did walk she would end up stumbling and would drop her wings to help her balance. She stopped roosting at night and we had to start carrying her from the run to the coop at night and vice versa in the morning because if we didn't she'd just sit there. Throughout everything she never lost her appetite and scarfed down scrambled eggs and mash pretty regularly. I should also mention she wasn't laying this whole time.
We tried researching and asking in facebook groups. We dewormed and sprayed for mites just in case. We did a round of antibiotics just in case. We tried B-12 and another multivitamin in case it was a deficiency. We basically tried any medication/vitamin/treatment we could get our hands on over the course of the year just to see if she would improve. Obviously, she continued to decline.
All I can think is she had something neurological maybe but we have no idea how or why it would have developed. At the end of the day I guess it really doesn't matter but to satisfy my own curiosity if anyone has any ideas what could have been wrong with her I'd appreciate your input.
About a year ago probably we noticed that she stopped to rest fairly frequently when the girls were let out of their run into the backyard. She'd walk around and peck for maybe 10/15 minutes and then would stop and lay down for a little bit before she'd jump back up and join the rest of the girls. Then her rests started getting longer - to the point where she'd spend a half hour just sitting there - and she'd start dropping her head down into the grass and basically just going to sleep. We called her our narcoleptic chicken but if you didn't know she was just sleeping you'd think she was just dead, face down in the grass. Then it got to the point where she could only stand/walk for a minute or so before she had to lay down. It almost seemed like she just didn't have the strength or energy to walk or keep her head up for long periods of time. When she did walk she would end up stumbling and would drop her wings to help her balance. She stopped roosting at night and we had to start carrying her from the run to the coop at night and vice versa in the morning because if we didn't she'd just sit there. Throughout everything she never lost her appetite and scarfed down scrambled eggs and mash pretty regularly. I should also mention she wasn't laying this whole time.
We tried researching and asking in facebook groups. We dewormed and sprayed for mites just in case. We did a round of antibiotics just in case. We tried B-12 and another multivitamin in case it was a deficiency. We basically tried any medication/vitamin/treatment we could get our hands on over the course of the year just to see if she would improve. Obviously, she continued to decline.
All I can think is she had something neurological maybe but we have no idea how or why it would have developed. At the end of the day I guess it really doesn't matter but to satisfy my own curiosity if anyone has any ideas what could have been wrong with her I'd appreciate your input.
