Unable to Stand? UPDATE. Tried to reintroduce her and now she is back inside

Ugh!
This is awful! Either Mareks or Newcastle diseases are possibilities? Yikes!

We have the two isolated, and will evaluate the remainder of our flock in the morning.

It sounds difficult to rid the coop of these viruses. Does anyone have experience with this?

Our hens free range all day, and have been outside in a large u enclosed area everyday. There have been only a handful of days that they have been in the coop in the last three months.

We have 4 older leghorns and one brahma bantam hen, which was a rescue over a year ago. We have 5 others the same ages as the two who are weak.
 
Ugh!
This is awful! Either Mareks or Newcastle diseases are possibilities? Yikes!

We have the two isolated, and will evaluate the remainder of our flock in the morning.

It sounds difficult to rid the coop of these viruses. Does anyone have experience with this?

Our hens free range all day, and have been outside in a large u enclosed area everyday. There have been only a handful of days that they have been in the coop in the last three months.

We have 4 older leghorns and one brahma bantam hen, which was a rescue over a year ago. We have 5 others the same ages as the two who are weak.

Hi, I would also give the Rooster Booster vitamins and minerals.
AND post on the emergencies a new listing asking if what you have is Newcastle or Mareks. Other will know more about these than I.
 
Just gave the rooster booster!

Thanks for the suggestions, and to post again, I will do that.

I'm very concerned that the remainder have all been exposed as well, and...

Thank you
 
Please let us know how she is doing - I've been nursing one for weekes with symptoms all over the place and have been trying to father as much info on other keeper's experience as I can. I do hope she is well!
 
:cd
:cd
Thanks everyone for reading this and offering suggestions!

I did post a new thread, as recommended, in hopes of getting some direct instructions specific to our two with sudden onset leg weakness!

I will post all follow up here also, as I so appreciate all the quick results and the sharing of similar issues!

Ugh!?! I just feel so sorry for them, as they must at least feel frightened in not being able to move about as they had been able to before!


What I posted:

"I hope someone can help identify what our hens have, what if anything we can do to help them, and what we can do for the others who are yet unaffected?

I posted on a weak legs thread and it was recommended I post this as a new emergency issue, as it appears that is what it is!

We started with one hen, one of five young Buckeyes but now have two not yet laying hens with weak legs, and I am watching closely what can be done for them.

The first is a Buckeye, and now the second, only a day later was Delaware. They have yet to lay, but expecting them to do so this fall. We figure they are around 4 months old, and I bought them from a farmer about 1 1/2 hours south west of where our hens live.

First, I was thinking(& hoping) that they are experiencing a vitamin deficiency, as the problem....but, as this came on SO quickly?!?...wondering if it isn't a more serious virus or disease?

Could it be Either Mareks or Newcastle diseases that are possible? Yikes!

See my profile, as I seemed to be able to load the pics of the two hens on here, but click the link to see the two affected!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/g/a/7060800/help-with-hens-weak-legs


I have the two weak ones in a separate coop for now.

Any suggestions?

So, as we have the two isolated, and need to evaluate the remainder of our flock this morning.

It sounds difficult to rid the coop of these viruses. Does anyone have experience with this?

Our hens free range all day, and have been outside in a large unenclosed area everyday. There have been only a handful of days that they have been in the coop in the last three months.

We have 4 older leghorns and one brahma bantam hen, which was a rescue over a year ago. We have 5 others the same ages as the two who are weak.
I did mix up a gallon of the save a chick powder into their water, in hopes of boosting their vitamin intake. We also picked up the liquid rooster booster, and gave each 3cc's orally of it.

Thanks for the suggestions, as I'm very concerned that the remainder have all been exposed as well, and don't want to lose any of the hens!

Thank you"
 
Just to update on the original pullet.

She is now home and resting. The vet says she has a minor yeast infection. She believes that the other girls were able to tell this and therefore kept her off food and water as much as they could. This is why she became so dehydrated and had the vitamin deficiency. Seems so cruel that they would do this but...flock welfare trumps that of a lone bird, I suppose. I have to give her two separate medicines (will check what they are), one of which is 2x a day and on is 1x per day. She needs to be kept indoors and separate for two weeks.

Question: The vet recommended I put her out in our dog run (without the dogs, though they all get along) once a day for a bit, any other recommendations aside from keeping her comfortable, warm, watered, fed, on her meds, and outside for a bit each day? When it is time to reintroduce her to the flock in two weeks, any tips? Should I bring her out to them each day so they are used to still having her around?

At her worst, she was stuck in this position and shaking slightly:


Not out of the woods yet, but her she is recovering in my living room (I have her in a wire dog kennel that now has a few branches, shavings, and my proper waterer/feeder):
 
Last edited:
Just to update on the original pullet.

She is now home and resting. The vet says she has a minor yeast infection. She believes that the other girls were able to tell this and therefore kept her off food and water as much as they could. This is why she became so dehydrated and had the vitamin deficiency. Seems so cruel that they would do this but...flock welfare trumps that of a lone bird, I suppose. I have to give her two separate medicines (will check what they are), one of which is 2x a day and on is 1x per day. She needs to be kept indoors and separate for two weeks.

Question: The vet recommended I put her out in our dog run (without the dogs, though they all get along) once a day for a bit, any other recommendations aside from keeping her comfortable, warm, watered, fed, on her meds, and outside for a bit each day? When it is time to reintroduce her to the flock in two weeks, any tips? Should I bring her out to them each day so they are used to still having her around?

At her worst, she was stuck in this position and shaking slightly:


Not out of the woods yet, but her she is recovering in my living room (I have her in a wire dog kennel that now has a few branches, shavings, and my proper waterer/feeder):

OHHHHHH she looks so much better !! What meds is she on?
Dehydration, malnutrition and yeast infection. poor girl.

As for putting them back outside. For me it depends on the girl.
My Plymouth Rock is a big girl, big. She did not have a problem with the others. They left her alone.
But with the Dorking who is in the my hospital room right now recovering from "I am not sure" I will take her out with me and feed her the scratch
and only to her, the others will watch her get the special attention. I have one girl who is agressive towards weaker ones and I will take her in for time out. That slows her down.
I watch them and see how they treat the weaker one.
I do go out and talk to them and preach about behaving properly. Seems to take the edge off.
 
Wow! Great your pullet is seeming better! Crazy she was so weak with an infection and the others cutting her off-but hens are each for themselves -cruel too!

Unfortunately, we lost our white pullet. Sad, and surprising as the buckeye was ill first and showing signs of weak legs first. We expected she would go first.
 
Amazing how your hen is doing now!

The white hen we lost was seeming to be having difficult and labored breathing, though it was hot and humid. Mainly, the two just suddenly lost the use of their legs. The photos show how they lay.

Our buckeye is eating like crazy now and I even gave her a few chunks of watermelon, which she eagerly took a few bites of! Also gave her more vitamin B in her beak and she took I. At least 1 CC of it and 3 yesterday. also have the chick saver vitamins mixed in with her water.
 

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