Video - Wobbly Hen - Is she hurt or sick?

[BrattishTaz]

Quote:
With either the mites or the ear infection.... would the chicken look as though it was trying to rub something off it head??? I have a silkie chick 9 weeks old that's head is upside down now and turned to the side about 95% of the day... eats and drinks upside down (as best it can). When she is standing there she often moves her head in a big circle across the bedding as if she is trying to rub something off and shakes her head alot which throws her off balance. If you have a suggestion one way or the other it would be great she has been like this for 3 days now... I am really hoping to start treating her somehowelectrolyte packages are good but I can't find anything specific to start treating her for. Thanks! Would it hurt to try both (the oil and the hydrogen peroxide).... which one first?

Search "wry neck" in the search box. It sounds like that is what you are dealing with. It is very treatable but you need to get on it ASAP.

 

[allen wranch]

chickensioux wrote:
That is exactly what my elderly Ameraucana was doing. I dewormed her and gave her Nutri-drench and within 2 days she was back to normal. That was about 2 weeks ago and she is still doing great. Maybe it could be as simple as that. Good luck.

Same thing here. Hen was wobbly and couldn't stand for long. I took fecal sample to vet and it showed worm eggs. I wormed her with Eprinex, gave her vitamins every day (forgot I had Nutri-drench) and she is back with the flock now. It took about five days for her to recover. Vet said the worms can cause anemia which in turn can cause weakness.

It is worth a try to see if worming will help, but worm the whole flock...​

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

An update: We thought she was getting better and then she took a turn for the worse so we decided to take her to UC Davis to have them put her down and do a free necropsy. She was our oldest hen and not laying and we really felt we needed to know if the rest of our flock was at risk.

Here is the contents of the report below. Long story short, other than "large numbers of louse nits" there isn't really anything jumping out at me as something we need to be super worried about.

L a b o r a t o r y F i n d i n g s / D i a g n o s i s

1. Moderate, chronic lymphoplasmacytic tracheobronchitis. Etiology: Suspect Mycoplasma species, see accession
summary.
2. Minimal, multifocal lymphocytic peripheral neuritis. Etiology: Suspect latent Marek's disease.
3. Mild, chronic, multifocal lymphocytic myocarditis.
4. Miscellaneous findings:
a. Mild scattered focal lymphocytic infiltrates, numerous organs, see accession summary.
b. Very mild, chronic, focal lymphocytic arteritis, carotid artery. Etiology: Suspect latent Marek's disease.
c. Large numbers of louse nits, base of feathers at ventral abdomen with mild superficial heterophilic feather
folliculitis/dermatitis..

C a s e S u m m a r y
8/12/11:
I re-opened this case to further check for avian PMV1 virus. The result is negative and this is the new final report.
7/27/11:
All testing is now completed and there are no additional significant findngs. This is the final report.
7/25/2011:
Several diagnoses are listed above, but the majority of these are thought to be rather incidental or represent latent
subclinical findings. There is fairly pronounced chronic inflammation in some areas of trachea and mainstem bronchi in the
lung and while the precise cause cannot be determined, possible causes could include a chronic Mycoplasma respiratory
infection or a latent, weakly pathogenic viral infection. The bird had a positive serum titer to Mycoplasma gallisepticum
which would indicate it was exposed to this bacteria and, therefore, I suspect the tracheobronchitis may be due to this
Mycoplasma infection. Aside from this finding, however, the remaining findings are extremely subtle or mild in nature .
There are very mild inflammatory changes seen in peripheral nerves, heart, and one carotid artery that would suggest a
Marek’s viral infection, but you also list the age of this bird as seven, which I assume means seven years. The Marek’s
virus is ubiquitous in backyard chicken flocks and can cause pronounced clinical signs and mortality generally in birds
less than one year of age. The virus causes inflammation in the brain and peripheral nerves which results in limb
weakness, ataxia or paralysis of wings and limbs and also often leads to formation of malignant tumors (lymphoma). Once
again, however, this occurs predominantly in birds less than one year of age. Because the lesions are extremely mild in extent in this chicken, I suspect they represent a subclinical finding. There also were large aggregates of louse nits on
feathers adjacent to the vent or ventral abdomen which had caused some mild inflammation of the skin and around the
base of the feathers. These louse nits may have been responsible for some of the clinical signs (trouble sitting). Additional
tests are pending and an updated report will follow.
7/21/2011:
Other than the fact that the bird was not reproductively active, there were no significant gross findings noted. The bird
appeared alert prior to euthanasia, but seemed somewhat reluctant to move or ambulate with its legs. The legs were
examined closely and were grossly unremarkable. Additional tests including microscopic examination of select tissues
and cultures are pending and an updated report will follow.

G r o s s O b s e r v a t i o n s
A single live chicken is submitted. The bird is alert. It seems reluctant to walk and when it does walk, sometimes the toes
drag or appear to be slightly weaker on the right leg. It is otherwise alert and unremarkable. It is euthanized and bled .
There are large collections of lice nits adhered to feathers on the ventral abdomen near the vent. There are essentially no
additional significant gross pathologic findings noted. The bird is in good nutritional condition with relatively large fat
depots in the subcutaneous and thoraco-abdominal regions. The liver is red-brown in color with a smooth capsular surface
and very soft texture. The spleen is moderate in size and dark red in color with a soft texture. The air sacs are clear and
unremarkable. The heart is unremarkable. The lungs are unremarkable with a light pink color and soft spongy texture. The
trachea is patent and unremarkable. The thyroids are unremarkable. There is no visible bursa. The ova cluster contains
only small ova with a congested red ovarian stroma. The oviduct is small in size and empty. There is a very small amount
of free yolk seen within the thoraco-abdominal cavity. The kidneys are red-brown in color with a soft texture. The crop
contains a moderate amount of granular feed material and there is similar feed in the gizzard. The intestines are
unremarkable with a modest amount of mucoid, brown soft ingesta and modest amounts of pasty green feces in the ceca .
The cecal tonsils and cloaca are unremarkable. There is soft green feces in the cloaca.
The muscles, joints and peripheral nerves examined from the legs and wings are unremarkable. The femur and tibia on the
left leg are cut open to examine the cortical bone and marrow. The marrow consists of a very soft red tissue. The bones
are extremely hard. The cortices appear normal in width. The brain is grossly unremarkable and the nasal mucosa is
unremarkable. The backbone is examined closely. It appears to be intact. Portions of the neck and thoracolumbar region
of the vertebral column are both placed in formalin for possible testing.

H i s t o l o g y
T14: Sections of liver, kidney, heart, lung, spleen, trachea, skeletal muscle, peripheral nerve, ovary, oviduct, multiple
sections of GI tract, brain and bone marrow are examined with findings greatly summarized.
There are infrequent, discrete focal lymphocytic infiltrates in loose fat adjacent to the sciatic nerve. In the liver, there are
infrequent random focal lymphocytic infiltrates within portal tracts. Throughout sections of air sac, there are focal regions
in which there are mild perivascular-oriented interstitial infiltrates of lymphocytes admixed with small numbers of
hemosiderophages and/or macrophages containing crystalline particulate (incidental inhalation of dust particles). In one
section of peripheral nerve, there is a very light, focal interstitial lymphocytic infiltrate. In a single section of carotid artery
adjacent to the thyroid, there are very mild focal intramural lymphocytic infiltrates seen predominantly within the
subintimal of the vessel. In one section of feathered skin (skin taken from the ventral abdomen near the vent), the dermis
appears to be focally fibrosed and there is a mild-moderate perivascular-oriented dermal infiltrate of mixed inflammatory
cells consisting predominantly of lymphocytes and plasma cells. These dermal vessels also are moderately
hypertrophied. The external feathers in the section are disrupted and there are multiple profiles of complex parasites ,
some of which appear to have an external chitinous shell and appendages, as well as an internal digestive tract
suggestive of an arthropod. There are additional profiles of apparent, poorly-developed arthropods surrounded by fairly
dense, thin peripheral cuticles (suggestive of possible louse nits). The epithelium is mildly acanthotic with mild
hyperkeratosis which extends into the infundibulum of the feather shafts, and there is a single, small superficial crust on
the skin composed of serum-like proteins and necrotic heterophils and red cells. There are additional loose, dense,
superficial serum-like crusts which appear to be partially surrounding the louse nits.
Two sections of trachea from the mid cervical trachea and distal trachea at the carina are examined. In the mid cervical
region, there is a mild diffuse lymphoplasma cell infiltrate. The overlying epithelium is relatively unremarkable. In the
section taken near the carina, however, there is pronounced epithelial squamous metaplasia with a very dense diffuse
mucosal infiltrate of lymphocytes and plasma cells and exocytosis through the epithelium. In the sections of heart, there
are moderate numbers of random discrete focal interstitial lymphocytic infiltrates with focal lymphoid follicle formation
seen both in the epicardium and myocardium. The lung is congested and there is mild -moderate, edematous expansion of
adventitia around large vessels, compatible with pulmonary edema. Small collections of dust -filled macrophages are seen
in the mucosa of parabronchi. In addition, there are focal areas marked by parabronchi and air capillaries that are filled
with prominent luminal collections of granular, pink proteinaceous material and variable numbers of free red cells
(post-mortem artifact or real change?). At one end of the section, there are additional focal lymphoid infiltrates
accompanying the dust-filled macrophages within parabronchi. The secondary bronchus has a moderate mucosal infiltrate
of lymphocytes and plasma cells. In additional section of liver, there are again random portal tracts with moderate ,
discrete, focal lymphocytic infiltrates. In one large portal tract within the large bile duct profile, there is a small focus of
epithelial necrosis. There is no appreciable inflammatory cell response. In the spleen, there is one apparent artery within
the white pulp which is occluded with a leukocytic thrombus composed predominantly of large macrophages containing
fine, light brown, cytoplasmic granules admixed with smaller numbers of lymphocytes. In the oviduct in select sections ,
there are mild-moderate, focal, mucosal infiltrates of lymphocytes and plasma cells. In the ovary, there are very small
scattered focal interstitial lymphoplasma cell infiltrates admixed with rare small focal collections of myelopoietic cells. A
single ova is seen which is partially collapsed and degenerate. There is a mild infiltrate of heterophils and macrophages
within the thecal cells. In the kidney, there are very infrequent discrete, small focal interstitial lymphocytic infiltrates and
there is a mild-moderate lymphocytic infiltrate in the mucosa of the ureter.
In the gizzard, there are multiple discrete focal lymphocytic infiltrates within the mucosa. There are additional infrequent
small focal lymphocytic infiltrates in the muscularis. In the section of crop, there is a small cluster of vessels within the
serosa that are cuffed by small numbers of lymphocytes and plasma cells. In the sections of ceca, there are small
numbers of elliptical-shaped protozoa compatible with Trichomonads seen within cecal crypts (incidental finding). The
small bone marrow consists of a fairly uniform mix of fatty connective tissue admixed with a relatively dense population of
hematopoietic cells which are predominantly composed of myeloid series with a distinct left shift. There are also rather
infrequent, random, focal discrete lymphocytic infiltrates.

 

[suebee]

Oh Rob, So sorry you lost her...she was lovely.

Thanks for the report. Sounds like you'll never know what happened except for parasite infestation. Somehow I'm not satisfied unless, like the other poster said, louse inside the ears. Hmmmm.

I just dusted all my birds with 5% sevin dust last week.

Wanted to add: Make sure you use a mask & gloves when dusting. Also notice the wind direction. They will flap so you want the residue to blow away from you.

 

[Msbear]

I wonder why they didn't test for MG or mareks? Rob, so sorry about your girl. Seven years is a long time. Hugs to the girls

 

[gogojordan]

Sounds similar to two juvenile chickens I have who are about 2 months old. They are both bantam buff brahma's and at about the same time started to just fall backwards when they'd stand. This is about the extend of it for one of them but the other would flop on its side when it lost balance. And eventually I'd find it on its back and unable to get up unless move it a little. Yesterday I had to put it down cause the other chickens would just walk right over her. The other one isn't as bad but I'm worried it'll have to be put down too. It's not getting any worse, but hasnt' gotten any better. Has been about two weeks now and it just keeps wobbling or falling backwards. In comparison to the others, her chest is really puffed out and head is in closer to her body. Head isn't dropping but is mostly upward. Eats, drinks, poops. No idea whats going on.

 

[motorboat]

I just put down a Barred Rock today. She was just like the chicken in the video on the first page.

Mine also had yellow something in her poop.

Before I put her down I inspected her. No signs of injury, no mites, no swollen abdomen (egg bound, etc.) but when I squeezed her gently some of that yellow stuff came out the vent. I had her isolated for 5 days with antibiotic and rooster booster wormer. She never improved. It was pitiful because the others could sense her weakness and they would bully her. She basically laid on the ground all day and at night. She seemed to be losing weight too so I decided to put her out of her misery.

It's so unreal how in 5 years I have had two chickens with the weirdest maladies that no one can figure out. See thread linked below.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/732992/roosters-nose-is-bad-real-bad-what-to-do