Vent gleet and now unable to walk

[LeslieFL]

Hi everyone,

My 7 month old lavender Orpington, Sophia, is struggling. She had what I believe to be vent gleet. We did the epsom soak, and have been applying monistat to her vent. I tried (its not easy) to get her to take some orally as well. I have fed her yogurt a few times as well.

She started having balance problems and now she seems unable to walk. I now have her in a crate to keep the other chickens out of her food. I noticed one of her feet had curled up toes and I wondered if this is a vitamin issue. I started giving her poultry cell yesterday and again today.

She eats a layer crumble and has access to regular water and water with Hydro Hen. (we're in Florida and it's flipping hot)

She is still eating and drinking and pecking at bugs that happen to go by. But she is fairly lethargic.

Several times during having the monistat applied she has fainted. We thought she died in our arms but no she's just literally passed out. I made sure we weren't holding her too tight so not sure what that's about.

None of the other hens are acting like this.

We did have one hen that we had to cull that had similar symptoms with the not walking. She started with wing paralysis and then leg paralysis. We assume she had Marek's we do not know for sure. This was a few months ago.

All the chickens were vaxxex for Marek's. We got them at 8 weeks old from a hatchery.

Does this sound like another Marek's case? Or something else perhaps?

 

[azygous]

Your hen likely has more than one issue. And, yes, it could be Marek's in spite of the vaccination. It only prevent tumors, not the inflammation of the sciatic nerve that can cause paralysis. If this chicken also dies, have her body tested so you will know. Managing a Marek's flock, you need to first know if you have it.

You didn't mention if this hen has begun to lay eggs. That's crucial information. If she's egg bound, it can cause all of these symptoms. Egg binding also cause a hen to lose a lot of body fluids which can look like vent gleet. If she was actively laying before she became sick, she should have a calcium supplement to help her pass a stuck egg. A stuck egg can put pressure on the nerves and cause lameness. We use calcium citrate, one tablet each day for the next several days given directly into the beak.

The heat is your most immediate concern. Chickens need dampened soil to lie in to exchange their excess body heat so they can fend off heat stroke.

They should be getting electrolytes during a heat event. For a chicken suffering effects of the heat, give them extra sugar in their electrolyte water to raise their glucose to fend off stress. This often fixes the lameness that heat sickness causes.

 

[LeslieFL]

She has been laying eggs, yes. But I am not sure when she laid her last one. Her eggs look similar to some of the other hens. I think it's been a bit. I assumed since she was ill maybe her egg production was on pause.

I will go out and try to check now for egg bound issues. I don't have calcium citrate but I can crush up a tums for her.

They do have free access to oyster shell.

 

[LeslieFL]

I do not feel any bound eggs in her abdomen. I gloved up and lubed a finger and didn't feel anything hard in her vent either. She's a mess right now. I wet her legs and wet the ground under her. I fed her crushed tums anyway. I sprinkled some crushed shell in front of her and she is pecking at it.