Very sick chicken unknown issue

[Sonia Gawlas]

My 2 year old silver laced hen started acting sick about a week ago. It started off as standing in place puffed up, looking weak until recently, i’ve noticed she is struggling with balancing. I isolated her in a cage in my basement today. I have looked at mareks disease although im not sure if that is what she has, it doesnt seem like shes paralyzed, just that her legs are too weak to hold up her body. She is also very skinny, I went to go check her crop but all I could really feel was bone. She does eat though, I havent seen her drink but then again I havent been paying much attention until recently and that is my fault. Her poops are green and semi runny. Could it be coccidicia? I don’t know what I am supposed to do.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you provide some photos of her poop and of her?

Feel her abdomen for any bloat or swelling, look her over for lice/mites. I would encourage her to drink and eat. Check her crop again first thing in the morning to see if it's empty.

Has she been laying eggs?

 

[Myrshine]

1. How old is she?

2. Does she currently lay? If so, when did she last lay an egg that you know of?

3. Does she feel light or under-weight/thin?

4. Is she eating and drinking?

5. Have you checked her over for lice or mites on her skin? Or worms within the droppings?

6. How is her crop? Does it feel full and hard? Or mushy/squishy?

It possibly sounds like Coccidiosis to me. It wouldn’t hurt to try and treat her for it. You can give her Corid or Albon for 7 days, if she’s still unwell, I’d get a fecal done and wait to see what the results are. Marek’s Disease and Avian Leukosis Virus (ALV) can present very similarly, so if she happens to pass before you can treat, I suggest sending her body in for a necropsy to be testing for both Marek’s Disease and ALV, just to weed it out.

 

[Sonia Gawlas]

1. How old is she?

2. Does she currently lay? If so, when did she last lay an egg that you know of?

3. Does she feel light or under-weight/thin?

4. Is she eating and drinking?

5. Have you checked her over for lice or mites on her skin? Or worms within the droppings?

6. How is her crop? Does it feel full and hard? Or mushy/squishy?

It possibly sounds like Coccidiosis to me. It wouldn’t hurt to try and treat her for it. You can give her Corid or Albon for 7 days, if she’s still unwell, I’d get a fecal done and wait to see what the results are. Marek’s Disease and Avian Leukosis Virus (ALV) can present very similarly, so if she happens to pass before you can treat, I suggest sending her body in for a necropsy to be testing for both Marek’s Disease and ALV, just to weed it out.

she is about 3 years old, she stopped laying a while back, she is very light and very skinny, i checked her crop and its fairly empty and mushy and i can feel bone, she does eat but only really attempts to eat if i hand feed her otherwise she falls over and gets discouraged but i havent seen her drinking so i try to feed her fruit and lettuce to hopefully keep her hydrated. she keeps turning around to pick at her feathers as if shes itchy but ive tried checking for mites/lice and i havent really seen anything even though im not quite sure what to look for. Her poops are solid but green, i havent seen any worms in it. Ive read that with mareks she can become depressed and her combs will turn pale but theyre decently red/pinkish and shes still a very lively chicken other than the fact she can’t walk/stand. As for my other chickens they all seem fine so im really hoping it isnt Mareks because loosing one chicken is sad enough but loosing all would leave me heartbroken. Where can I find the medication you listed? (also I have included two pictures, one of her and one of the area around the vent because ive read that mareks can also affect the skin follicles but im not sure if hers are affected or not) thank you again for the advice and the response.

 

[RoyalChick]

I have a chicken (Maggie) who had similar symptoms. I took her to a vet and she remains a mystery.
I felt she may have a vitamin or mineral deficiency leading to the lack of balance. When she molts she goes off commercial feed and only has forage which may have been limited as she doesn’t fully free range.
Anyway, I gave her supplements of vitamin B complex and E and some minerals and she has completely regained her balance. It took weeks during which time she slept in a nest box.
Maybe it was coincidence but it was the best the vet and I could come up with.
Now she is fully able to roost and run around and behaves normally. Her balance is excellent (she even navigated a ladder in the dark to go lay an egg this morning - the first in months).
She does still have diarrhea so I am taking a stool sample in to the vet shortly.
I bought vitamin and mineral supplement on line. I may still have the packet if that is helpful. I can take a picture when I next go in to the house.

 

[Sonia Gawlas]

I have a chicken (Maggie) who had similar symptoms. I took her to a vet and she remains a mystery.
I felt she may have a vitamin or mineral deficiency leading to the lack of balance. When she molts she goes off commercial feed and only has forage which may have been limited as she doesn’t fully free range.
Anyway, I gave her supplements of vitamin B complex and E and some minerals and she has completely regained her balance. It took weeks during which time she slept in a nest box.
Maybe it was coincidence but it was the best the vet and I could come up with.
Now she is fully able to roost and run around and behaves normally. Her balance is excellent (she even navigated a ladder in the dark to go lay an egg this morning - the first in months).
She does still have diarrhea so I am taking a stool sample in to the vet shortly.
I bought vitamin and mineral supplement on line. I may still have the packet if that is helpful. I can take a picture when I next go in to the house.

yes please take a picture it would be very helpful although i am conflicted on what I should do, because I am still not exactly sure what she has and on one hand, if she does have a deficiency then vitamin B would be helpful however, if she has coccidiosis which some people have told me might be it, then im pretty sure giving her vitamin B would be more harmful than helpful (if what ive read online is true)

 

[RoyalChick]

yes please take a picture it would be very helpful although i am conflicted on what I should do, because I am still not exactly sure what she has and on one hand, if she does have a deficiency then vitamin B would be helpful however, if she has coccidiosis which some people have told me might be it, then im pretty sure giving her vitamin B would be more harmful than helpful (if what ive read online is true)

Here you go also an article showing that Vitamin B does not interfere with treatment of Cocci though it can increase the eggs of the Cocci bug.
You can confirm Cocci with a fecal sample - most vets can do that, doesn’t have to be an avian vet and it isn’t outlandishly expensive.
Anyway, here is the NIH article that says you can treat for Cocci and give vitamin B supplements at the same time, along with pictures of the product I have them. I got it on Amazon. I had to do a fair bit of math to work out the right dosage as this is intended for much bigger flocks than I have. I have it to them all, not just the poorly hen.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6160879/

Vitamins & Electrolytes Plus 4oz by Agrilabs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0042LA2P...t_i_RQ0PD9HJ4ZJJN5Y03B4D?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I hope your hen improves.