UPDATED with photos. Mereks or something else? bobbing head, difficulty standing and walking. Seems.....drunk?

[Chicken Soap with Nuts]

Rosalie is a 5 1/2 year old Redstar hen. She is currently lighter than usual.

Rosalie has recently started having trouble moving since maybe Saturday? First she moved to the lowest roosting bar, then to the egg box, then refused to come out of the roosting area/eggbox area. I thought oh, maybe she's trying to be broody, but she pooped on the eggs and stood up after everyone laid their eggs like it was uncomfortable for her. I left some food in there, but she didn't come downstairs for water, so I gave her some water with a syringe and massaged her crop as it felt hard due to the lack of liquid. I removed her and put her outside, but she was barely moving, so I put her in a cage on a nest for the day with some food and water, but she didn't touch it. Last night I put her in a box with a nest in it in the secured run attached to the roosting area on the ground level so she didn't have to go up and down the "stairs". She stepped out of the box, so I tried the food and water and she just laid down next to them and ate and drank. I put her back in the box at bedtime as she seemed stuck there. I put the food and water nearby, but she was either not interested or couldn't. I moved the box to a cage as the other chickens were tripping over her to take the food and water. She was our alpha hen, so nobody bothers her when she's sick, but they all gathered around the cage for support all day. She flaps her wings when she feels off balance and tries very unsteadily to take steps, but is usually sleeping or resting. When she's sleeping, her head doesn't move around the weird way (see videos), but when she's awake it seems to bob back and forth. Her eyes look normal to me. I can't tell if her toes look curly or not. Today I offered her food and water and she refused. She tried to peck at the food but hit the metal of the food dish and didn't try again. I gave her a kidney shaped dish with wet food mash in it in front of her chest and she didn't touch it.

She's been sick on and off since earlier this summer. She had an impacted/sour crop, I think she had a chicken neck bone stuck. Her comb turned purple and flopped over and I was sure she was going to die, but she pulled through. When she finally got that worked out, she went back to laying briefly. She's always had difficulty in that her eggshells have been thin and brittle her entire life, but she laid an egg almost every single day of her laying life except when she molted until she got sick. Calcium supplementation didn't seem to help until I found RepCal and realized she had a vitamin D deficiency for some unknown reason. The heat this summer was really terrible. We put up a shade cloth and gave them a pool of water, but she seemed really hit hard by it. She had a purple comb off and on, and her health has been off and on as well all summer. I figured she was just getting old. I noticed a spot in her abdomen on her left side that felt almost like an extra jumbo sideways egg, but I was thinking it was an enlarged liver or something else. It was weird, it seemed to harden and soften as I touched it, almost like uterine contractions in a human. She presented with ascites a couple weeks ago that was really bad. I removed between 1-2 cups with a sterile catheter and a syringe and she improved briefly. Now this. She also has some accumulated poop, but it's not blocking her vent. I'm not sure if she's strong enough for me to bathe her.

The other birds (4) seem fine, except they all seem to have watery diarrhea except for one. I think that is because I replaced the spring on their treadle feeder and only that one is smart enough to use the feeder if it's not left open. Back to that, the spring went missing about a week ago and I still haven't found it, which made me wonder if Rosalie ate it. The other chickens have an occasional sneeze (maybe I'll hear one or two every week or two out of the whole flock?), but no one seems sick or has major discharge. Everyone's waling normally. Egg production is slowing. Rosalie hasn't laid since her second bout of illness this summer.

No signs of trauma.

Very little eating, and less drinking.

Poop looks slightly greenish, not super runny, not super hard. white cap.

She's currently sleeping on a Precision Pet by Petmate Excelsior Nesting Pad inside a cardboard box inside the coop (also used in nestbox). I use Flockfresh bedding in the run and there is wire and wood under the roosts, which she's not currently using. The coop was cleaned out and fresh bedding placed on Sunday.

I'm just not sure what it is. The weird head thing and her difficulty walking make me wonder if it's neurological. The missing spring makes me wonder if it's heavy metal related. I'm just wondering if it's something that could affect the rest of the flock, if she's just old (which is what I first thought), or what. If she's just old, that's life. If it's possibly something I should worry for the flock, I'll probably need to get a necropsy when she passes and then what?

1st video is from Sunday 2nd video is from tonight (Tuesday night). She's pretty much skin and bones and feathers now. She looks super healthy in the first video compared to today.

Update Wed:
She seems to have single sided leg weakness/paralysis. Is this Mereks or something else?

 

[SmiYa0126]

Hello! I can't seem to get the video to play. You have been taking care of her through her illnesses so well! First things first, she needs to eat to get her energy up. Has her crop cleared from earlier? Can you give her raw yolk? I would also force feed a handful of grubs and if you have any treats that she loves.

As for treatment I would try 1/2 b complex pill and 400 iu vitamin e softgel. Treat for two weeks to see if there's improvement.

 

[Chicken Soap with Nuts]

Hello! I can't seem to get the video to play. You have been taking care of her through her illnesses so well! First things first, she needs to eat to get her energy up. Has her crop cleared from earlier? Can you give her raw yolk? I would also force feed a handful of grubs and if you have any treats that she loves.

As for treatment I would try 1/2 b complex pill and 400 iu vitamin e softgel. Treat for two weeks to see if there's improvement.

 

[Chicken Soap with Nuts]

Hello! I can't seem to get the video to play. You have been taking care of her through her illnesses so well! First things first, she needs to eat to get her energy up. Has her crop cleared from earlier? Can you give her raw yolk? I would also force feed a handful of grubs and if you have any treats that she loves.

As for treatment I would try 1/2 b complex pill and 400 iu vitamin e softgel. Treat for two weeks to see if there's improvement.

Thanks. I checked and her crop still seemed hardish. I gave her some liquid b complex and force fed her water and a little bit of olive oil and tried to work out whatever was in her crop. I hope that helps. I don't have any vitamin e yet. Her toes weren't curing and her legs weren't splaying, so hopefully that wasn't a permanent thing. She does seem to be able to move her wings and legs, though her head is still bobbing. She perked up a bit after I wet the contents of her crop, but still can't stand steadily (granted she's barely eaten or had anything to drink in days.)

 

[MysteryChicken]

Looks more vitamin related then a disease too me. Marek's usually results in permanent paralysis of the legs.

 

[SmiYa0126]

I would focus on her crop, she may need more olive oil or coconut oil. What does her poop look like?

 

[coach723]

At 5 1/2, for a heavy laying breed like she is, she may be reaching her end. Once a bird develops ascites, it's generally a slow (sometimes quicker) progression downhill. Draining the fluid makes them more comfortable for a time, but it usually recurrs, the underlying condition is still there. Reproductive issues like cancers and infection are not uncommon. The fluid is usually from a liver that is over taxed, organ failure can also cause ascites. Heart and liver problems are also not uncommon. Crop issues are often a symptom, just like ascites, of something else going on. Cancers and infections can slow digestion and cause slow, doughy, or impacted/sour crops. You are really doing everything you can, fluids and vitamins. Green droppings are often from not eating. Does she feel thin, is her keel bone prominent or well muscled? Honestly, I would give supportive care and just watch. If she's not eating, drinking, acting obviously unwell, or the flock attacks her, then it's time to consider not letting her suffer. They are really, really good at hiding illness, so once they appear ill it's often pretty advanced. If vet care is an option they may be able to do some imaging to see if they can tell what's going on inside. A necropsy after she passes is the best way to know for sure what's happened. So sorry.

 

[Chicken Soap with Nuts]

At 5 1/2, for a heavy laying breed like she is, she may be reaching her end. Once a bird develops ascites, it's generally a slow (sometimes quicker) progression downhill. Draining the fluid makes them more comfortable for a time, but it usually recurrs, the underlying condition is still there. Reproductive issues like cancers and infection are not uncommon. The fluid is usually from a liver that is over taxed, organ failure can also cause ascites. Heart and liver problems are also not uncommon. Crop issues are often a symptom, just like ascites, of something else going on. Cancers and infections can slow digestion and cause slow, doughy, or impacted/sour crops. You are really doing everything you can, fluids and vitamins. Green droppings are often from not eating. Does she feel thin, is her keel bone prominent or well muscled? Honestly, I would give supportive care and just watch. If she's not eating, drinking, acting obviously unwell, or the flock attacks her, then it's time to consider not letting her suffer. They are really, really good at hiding illness, so once they appear ill it's often pretty advanced. If vet care is an option they may be able to do some imaging to see if they can tell what's going on inside. A necropsy after she passes is the best way to know for sure what's happened. So sorry.

Thanks. I was thinking it was old age at first, then I wasn't sure. The droppings actually went from green to "normal" and the other hens' diarrhea went away as well and their poops are back to normal.

This morning she'd fallen out of her box. She was drooling. I tried to feed her/give her water, but she didn't seem to have the ability to eat or drink anymore. she was jerking her head back more than bobbing. Her pupils were widening and constricting eratically. I wondered if she'd had a stroke and/or seizures. She could still flap her wings. She couldn't stand. Her feet were cold. Both had curled toes, but not stiff. when I checked on her almost 2 hrs ago, when the photo was taken, I wasn't sure she was still alive, but she made a sound. Her head was buried beak down deep in the shavings. I moved it (that's when the photo was taken), then propped it up with shavings in a more comfortable/easier to breathe position. She was barely breathing when I took the photo.

She's practically skin and bones now. She's eaten not much more than an oz or two of water and and egg yolk and some watermelon each day for a couple days. The other day I noticed that she was "missing the mark" when she tried to peck at food. It was like her vision was off and backwards. She was turning her neck upside down and to the side and grabbing under what she was aiming for. I adjusted and managed to get her to eat her own food that way. The 2 days the crop wasn't emptying, I gave her water and olive oil and massaged and it seemed to go down, but there still seemed to be something in it. I'm not sure what. Almost felt like a balloon and a rubber washer.

My other concern is that on Friday afternoon I looked at my newest hen (Maple)'s eyes and saw that her pupils are different sizes/shapes and she has a black spot on one iris. She often closed that eye, though she does it less now. When we got her, her sister had been killed by a racoon and she had some broken scales on her leg and I figured that eye had been injured. Once I saw some pictures/descriptions of ocular Merek's, I was worried I might have inadvertently brought it into my flock, but I don't know how to find out other than sending Rosalie in for a necropsy instead of burying her here. Maple also seemed to be slow at pecking at the time and having difficulty seeing, though I think she's improved. We got her in July. Rosalie started having the crop issues before we got Maple.

They've all been sleeping nearby her during the day every day. When I took her out this afternoon for all my kids to say goodbye, it started raining and everyone ran into the coop, but one of them stayed out pacing the fence and bawked at me until I put her back.

I haven't checked in 2 hours, I'm guessing she's probably dead now. I'm not really relishing dealing with it. The vet doesn't open til Monday. Not sure how to ship her to CSU for necropsy or if I have to do it though the vet or if I even need to.

 

[coach723]

I'm very sorry.
This link has good info on how to package a bird to send for necropsy, with pictures.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...for-a-necropsy-pictures.799747/#post-11545800
Important that you refrigerate the body, don't freeze it. If you are within driving distance you can sometimes deliver it that way, a bit simpler. Contact your lab tomorrow to get particulars. It's often less expensive than going through your vet.
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf
For the bird with eye concerns, if you can post some up close, in focus, pictures of the eye, it might help. I have ocular Mareks' in my flock, I can tell you if it looks like what I've seen.

 

[bhawk-23]

I'm sorry, it's always really hard when we cannot figure out what the heck is happening and how to fix it. Marek's especially because there is no way of knowing until a necropsy confirms it. I cannot help diagnose but I will strongly suggest a necropsy if you have even the slightest suspicion. My flock has it and if I didn't know the stress would be even worse to see my girls getting sick with no understanding of why or what to do. Having a confirmed diagnosis has helped me with future decisions, treatments and overall flock maintenance.
When we brought our girl in for a necropsy the Dr said to dip them in cold water right after death. Even the fridge, which is still a good option, takes a bit for the whole body to cool off. The second bird we knew was sick we brought to them and they euthanized and opened right away. Not sure if those are options for you.