unsteady/off-balance hen - what to look for?

[cityeggs]

My 1 yr old Wyandotte has been acting oddly. I noticed her weaving a little as she walked last night, but it wasn't significant and I thought she might have just lost her footing. This morning, though, it's obvious that she's having trouble keeping her balance - she's definitely weaving, and stumbles annd puts out her wing to steady herself. She's also moving her neck back and forth periodically. Everyone else seems fine *so far*. I did a quick search but no similar threads came up, though I know I've seen similar threads posted in the past - I must just not have the right search terms.

I know strange neurological things can happen when molting or broody, but she is neither. She's eating and drinking, though having a little trouble with the balance part of eating (I put out mash and she kept stumbling and looked like she was having trouble getting her neck/head to do what it needed too, though she clearly was getting food.) She's even mustering up enough energy to half-heartedly chase the chicks, though I know that doesn't mean much.

It's warmer in the last 2 days than it has been - up to 80, and she is usually the first one to pant (she's by far my least heat tolerant hen), but she's not panting so far, and she's never acted like this in the heat, so while it could be related, it's still unusual. She does have some shade and I put up more just in case.

So far as I know, there's no dangerous plants or spoiled/fermented food that she could've gotten into, unless she dug something moldy up under the wood chips.

What can I do for her? What do I check?

 

[cityeggs]

Forgot to mention - poop looks normal so far, as far as I can tell - it looked like she roosted with everyone normally, and the droppings below the roost all looked normal.

 

[cityeggs]

Finally found some related threads - I only have B2, calcium and electrolytes on hand, but I will pick up some nutri-drench and B-complex and Vit E later today. Putting out the electrolytes in the meatime (there's some Vitamin E in that) I meant to pick up some nutridrench last time I was at the feed store just in case and forgot. Anything else I should try, or signs to look for to figure out how to help her?

I do have 2 month old chicks, but they are all supposed to be vaccinated against Marek's. I freaked out a little bc something about her eyes looked funny and I remembered Marek's has an eye symptom but I couldn't remember what. Once I looked it up, her eyes don't look discolored; I think it's just that her face is asymmetrical to start with and she's either having trouble seeing and moving her head funny in order to see, or just moving her head funny because of her balance.

 

[cityeggs]

She got worse quickly - yesterday, she laid an egg, pushed out the other hens when I put out egg shells and gobbled them up and just looked a little odd on her feet when I closed up the coop. At noon today, she was clearly unsteady but still chasing off the chicks; by roost time, she was hobbling in circles with her head almost on the ground and kept falling over under the feeder. She fell over backwards multiple times when trying to drink by herself after I gave her a syringe of Nutridrench.

I had been on the fence about putting her in the broody cage/sick bay, thinking that might upset her more and no one was bugging her still, but when it was clear that she was going to try to roost even though she could barely walk and I was afraid she would fall or get trampled, I set it up and put her in. I gave her 400IU Vit E and 1/4 tab of B-complex. I forgot about adding egg for the selenium, but I will make sure to give it to her with tomorrow's dose. Here's hoping vitamin deficiency is all it is...

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi. Sorry your hen is having issues. Let me tag some folks who may be able to help you.
@azygous
@EggCentric
@Wyorp Rock

 

[azygous]

I think you nailed it with the vitamin E. She has all the signs of torticollis. You'll find out soon enough if she improves. Give the E every day until the symptoms are completely gone.

 

[cityeggs]

Somehow, in the time I put her in the coop last night while I got sick bay set up for her, she managed to hobble into the nesting box and lay her egg last night, and crawl out to where I found her flopped under the roost. I would've thought the stress on her body would have given her a break from the egg cycle at that point, but that was not the case!

Today, she seems unable to coordinate movement enough to eat or drink independently, or do much more than shuffle. I haven't even seen her move on her own, I just know by the poop spots that she has moved around some.

How much and how often do I feed her and help her drink? She seemed interested in food but I was afraid to over feed her, since she can't get food in her mouth without me putting it there, and she resists having her beak opened, understandably, so it was hard to tell if she was done, or just struggling. Do chickens have the reflex to eat if food is put in their mouth, or will she spit it out when she's had enough? I wasn't forcing her to swallow (I wasn't putting it in the back like the pills) but I did have to open her beak and put the mash and egg in - she couldn't get anything in her mouth by herself. Same with water - she can't dip her beak on her own, and my nipple waterers are too big (and I don't think she has enough muscle control to get any). Will she just keep her mouth closed if I dip her beak if she doesn't want any? And would a small animal rabbit/hamster waterer maybe be easier for her since the mechanism is larger than the chicken nipples?

And since she can't hold her head up or stand on her own, should I do anything to position her - will she be able to digest when she's all hunched over? I've seen people fashion slings - is that more for foot/leg/injuries, or would that help her too?

 

[azygous]

A couple years ago, my oldest hen, nearly fourteen years, declined with torticollis. She was certainly interested in eating and drinking, but when she tried to target the food bowl, her head would flip upside down. So, I had to tube feed her.

Tubing is something anyone can do with the proper supplies. You can buy a tubing kit from any vet for just a few dollars. I would feed this hen twice a day until the vitamin E gave her relief. She was a large breed, and I would tube a half a cup of food and fluids into her crop at once.

This is something you can do.

 

[cityeggs]

I looked for an article and what came up was crop feeding - is that what I need to do? That seems complicated and the article wasn't very detailed. Or can I just slowly syringe with the tip past the airway, like with medicine?

 

[azygous]

Yes, you can syringe anything into the crop safely. But tubing is even easier, believe it or not. Instead of inserting the syringe over and over and over, the tube is inserted only once, and then you use a large volume syringe to put a lot of food or fluids into the tube, and you're finished in a fraction of the time it takes to syringe directly into the crop. It's so much less stress for both you and your chicken.

The principle is exactly the same. Look at this photo and you'll see where the syringe is going, and that's just how the tube goes in, too. When you do it the first time, you'll see how easy and efficient it is, and it's easier each time you do it. Get yourself a tubing kit from your vet for a small animal and I'll give you tips how to do it the easiest way.