whats wrong with my hen? *video* unbalanced...NEW VIDEO~post#385

[Pip&Squeek2]

I don't know if it's because mine is still real little or what but s/he will end up doing flips in a sense. If s/he tries getting up s/he ends up falling to the side and then uses the wings to get try and help which then just makes her/him flip to the back or will flip over forward and end up summer-saulting. I don't know if it's me or not but maybe my little one is worse off than I thought. Mine can't even sit on it's hunches or anything. S/he can't sit straight, only to one side or the other.

Do any of your guys do this kind of thing? Or are they able to catch themselves and straighten without flipping over?

 

[chickfan]

Mine has never flipped like that, but then she is not a little chicken. She has seemed to extend her wings to help balance her though. Of course I don't know if that is what she is doing or not, and that was a few days ago. Today she was holding her wings out more like the others do when it is hot. I saw that as a good sign, but maybe I'm just hoping too much because I really don't know.

 

[Pip&Squeek2]

Thiamine deficiency in poultry

As most feedstuffs used in poultry diets contain enough quantities of vitamins to meet the requirements in this species, deficiencies in this vitamin do not occur with commercial diets. This was, at least, the opinion in the 1960s.[41]

Mature chickens show signs 3 weeks after being fed a deficient diet. In young chicks, it can appear before 2 weeks of age.

Onset is sudden in young chicks. There is anorexia and an unsteady gait. Later on, there are locomotor signs, beginning with an apparent paralysis of the flexor of the toes. The characteristic position is called "stargazing", meaning a chick "sitting on its hocks and the head in opisthotonos".

Response to administration of the vitamin is rather quick, occurring a few hours later.[42][43]

Differential diagnosis include riboflavin deficiency and avian encephalomyelitis. In riboflavin deficiency, the "curled toes" is a characteristic symptom. Muscle tremor is typical of avian encephalomyelitis. A therapeutic diagnosis can be tried by supplementing thiamine only in the affected bird. If the animals do not respond in a few hours, thiamine deficiency can be excluded.

 

[Lobzi]

Thanks for the added info Pip&Squeek2
The more information we have, the better able we are to determine how to best treat our birds.

 

[Pip&Squeek2]

Question:

Would it hurt, or be a bad idea, if I gave antibiotics to little Runt?

I have yet to see much improvement with Runt. So I was thinking maybe I could give the antibiotic a try. His/her legs seem a bit stronger since this all started but still flipping over a lot.

~S

 

[Lobzi]

Sara, I tried over the counter antibiotics with Roo when he had a respiratory issue....he died. I have since been advised by a vet that such meds are not good. Now if you have a antibiotic from a vet that might be different. I really cant advise yay or nay on antibiotics, just to share my experience is all I can do.
How many days on vit B has it been for Runt?

 

[Pip&Squeek2]

Quote:
It's been 4.5 days. His/her legs have been twitching a lot and the upper body will heave, like a cat before puking.

I will probably just keep doing the B therapy for a few more days. I was just wondering if the antibiotics would help or make things worse for him/her. I will stay away from the antibiotics though. I was reading about them too and see it's not a good idea to mess with that.

~S

 

[Pip&Squeek2]

I took little Runt outside to get some fresh air and to peck in the grass for a little bit. I noticed that the left leg looks bigger and stronger...like there is a lot of muscle. However the right leg looks tiny compared to the other. Even the toes on the right are tiny...compared to the left side. Seems like the left also has more vibration to it. Tremor like movement.

Still eating good. Doing the little tweeting and singing. Drinking is still a problem but I use a dropper to get water in.

It's been 4.5 days of the vitamin B therapy. Should I be seeing any improvement or do you think we are dealing with something else? I'm so lost and afraid. Sorry to keep posting but I feel like that is all I have at this point. Nobody here in the household understands how to handle what I am dealing with. They think of chickens as food...not pets. Lol They all just deal with me and my love for animals...including my chicken friends.

~S

 

[Lobzi]

Sara, the trembling leg sounds just like Baby. It was his left leg that started the problem. It was over a two week period for him to reach full paralysis of his wings and legs. At that point is when I started vitamin B therapy. Here is the time-line for Baby, the best I can remember.
May 22 I noticed the trembling left leg and witnessed the fall from the tree. I treated him as if he had hurt his leg from the fall for a few days, keeping him with me in a front sling baby carrier I fashioned to hold a chicken

June 12 is the date I marked on my calendar "Baby starts paralysis"

June 24 is when I learned of the vitamin B therapy and started it.

June 30th is the date I made the movie "Baby doing so much better" I sent you. As you recall, he was far from well.

July 2, Baby is still spending a lot of time on his haunches as shown in this photo taken July 2

Last week of July is when I made the final movie of Baby walking normally I sent you.


So you can see it took about a month for full recovery.
I hope this give you some encouragement.

 

[chickfan]

Pip&Squeek2 :

I took little Runt outside to get some fresh air and to peck in the grass for a little bit. I noticed that the left leg looks bigger and stronger...like there is a lot of muscle. However the right leg looks tiny compared to the other. Even the toes on the right are tiny...compared to the left side. Seems like the left also has more vibration to it. Tremor like movement.

Still eating good. Doing the little tweeting and singing. Drinking is still a problem but I use a dropper to get water in.

It's been 4.5 days of the vitamin B therapy. Should I be seeing any improvement or do you think we are dealing with something else? I'm so lost and afraid. Sorry to keep posting but I feel like that is all I have at this point. Nobody here in the household understands how to handle what I am dealing with. They think of chickens as food...not pets. Lol They all just deal with me and my love for animals...including my chicken friends.

~S

Please don't stop posting!!! I am learning along with you, and I'm feeling lost and scared too. DH tolerates me (he better!!!) but I have heard him say, more than once, "it's just a chicken!" - not necessarily talking about the one that can't walk, but about others in general when I pamper them like I would a child, almost. Boy does that rile me, and I let him know it. And he truly does care about them....not to the extent that I do, but he does care - he just doesn't want me to know it!
With Runt having the smaller leg and foot, there may be an abnormality there, which might account for his/her size. I'm just rambling here, because I sure don't know. But having the abnormalty in the food and leg shouldn't be something causing death. Runt would just learn to adjust to it when he/she starts getting around. So you would just have a crippled chicken. Does that make sense?
Keep posting!!!​