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

[flewdacoop]

hope you find out what was wrong

 

[RaeRae2]

This is an old thread, but I've read it all and I'm very hopeful that a vitamin deficiency is what's wrong with my Birta.

I found her on July 4th unable to walk. She doesn't seem sick - she preens her feathers, eats and drinks, but she can't walk at all. She lays kind of on her chest with her toes curled up. She's 2 years old and is a very heavy laying hen - lays humongous sized eggs, often double or even triple yolked. So I am hoping that she became deficient and I can fix her.

Tonight we are going to an avian vet and I'll ask if he can give her a B vitamin injection, just in case. I'll also ask about doing a round of antibiotics proactively. It can't hurt I don't think?? I have been giving her electrolytes but if the B Vitamin deficiency is the problem, that's not going to be enough.

She has improved over the last week to the point she can stand up on her elbows and use her wings to walk a little bit. A few days ago she couldn't even do that. But she is a LONG ways from normal. My poor girl.

I'm trying to get some pictures off my phone but the dumb thing just isn't working right. I'll post those as soon as I can.

 

[Miss Lydia]

This is an old thread, but I've read it all and I'm very hopeful that a vitamin deficiency is what's wrong with my Birta.

I found her on July 4th unable to walk. She doesn't seem sick - she preens her feathers, eats and drinks, but she can't walk at all. She lays kind of on her chest with her toes curled up. She's 2 years old and is a very heavy laying hen - lays humongous sized eggs, often double or even triple yolked. So I am hoping that she became deficient and I can fix her.

Tonight we are going to an avian vet and I'll ask if he can give her a B vitamin injection, just in case. I'll also ask about doing a round of antibiotics proactively. It can't hurt I don't think?? I have been giving her electrolytes but if the B Vitamin deficiency is the problem, that's not going to be enough.

She has improved over the last week to the point she can stand up on her elbows and use her wings to walk a little bit. A few days ago she couldn't even do that. But she is a LONG ways from normal. My poor girl.

I'm trying to get some pictures off my phone but the dumb thing just isn't working right. I'll post those as soon as I can.

I hope she continues to improve. And the vet has some solid answers for you. When was the last time she laid an egg, could she be egg bound and it maybe pressing on something thats causing her not to be able to walk. Hopefully he'll be able to feel if theres an egg. There is a product called Poultry Nutri Drench which is awesome for problems like this. you can get it a TSC and on line. I wouldn't be with out it. Please let us know what the vet says. All the best to you and Birta.

 

[RaeRae2]

She has been laying an egg every day - a normal, big sized egg. Then she eats it! Ugh oh well. She's been an egg eater in the past, but she quit for about a year and since she's been in the dog cage with the egg every day, she's been eating it again. But, if it's giving her nutrition then that's ok. I can deal with the egg eating later. She eats the entire shell too.

I bought a general vitamin/mineral powder at TSC for birds and had been putting that in her water but she wouldn't drink it so the last 2 days she's been back to plain water.

Here is one picture. I've been bathing her every couple of days to keep her under feathers clean. When she's in deeper water, she stands more upright and moves her legs a lot more. So she's not paralyzed like I initially thought. Her legs just won't support the weight of her body.

She seems bright and happy and has good color. She doesn't appear or act sick or anything. So I really hope it's a deficiency of some type!

 

[Miss Lydia]

She has been laying an egg every day - a normal, big sized egg. Then she eats it! Ugh oh well. She's been an egg eater in the past, but she quit for about a year and since she's been in the dog cage with the egg every day, she's been eating it again. But, if it's giving her nutrition then that's ok. I can deal with the egg eating later. She eats the entire shell too.

I bought a general vitamin/mineral powder at TSC for birds and had been putting that in her water but she wouldn't drink it so the last 2 days she's been back to plain water.

Here is one picture. I've been bathing her every couple of days to keep her under feathers clean. When she's in deeper water, she stands more upright and moves her legs a lot more. So she's not paralyzed like I initially thought. Her legs just won't support the weight of her body.

She seems bright and happy and has good color. She doesn't appear or act sick or anything. So I really hope it's a deficiency of some type!

She's a pretty girl, could she have jumped down off the roost and maybe pinched a nerve. I had some brahma hens once and they were all way to heavy to come down off a 4ft. roost with deep bedding, I had to lower the roost to 2-3 ft. Just trying to help you figure it out. She looks healthy, red comb and wattles so hopefully vits may be what she needs if you can get her to drink them. Hopefully the vet can help with that. Does she like yogurt? you might try mixing some vits in some yogurt then cook some scrambled egg to mix into that and see if she'll take it that way.

 

[Lobzi]

Do keep us informed. I have only had one success with the vitamin b but I always try it on those that experience this paralysis. I would add other vitamins too to possible help her. I do wish there could be some advancements to help with this issue in chickens. It seems to be quite common.

 

[RaeRae2]

She does roost up very high, but she's a light, athletic hen. She's not big like a Brahma. She is a generic Production Red/White Leghorn mix that I hatched out. But yes, I have wondered if it was an injury from flying down or getting knocked down. She was fine that night before bed then the next morning she was laying on her chest in the corner and couldn't get up.






This was her before all this happened. You can see her way in the background on the right.

 

[Miss Lydia]

She does roost up very high, but she's a light, athletic hen. She's not big like a Brahma. She is a generic Production Red/White Leghorn mix that I hatched out. But yes, I have wondered if it was an injury from flying down or getting knocked down. She was fine that night before bed then the next morning she was laying on her chest in the corner and couldn't get up.






This was her before all this happened. You can see her way in the background on the right.

Makes me wonder if it could be an injury from what you have just said. I hope you can get some answers and help for her from this vet.

 

[RaeRae2]

Well, we went to the avian vet and he thinks it is a severe calcium deficiency. He did a good exam and he couldn't feel anything wrong with a joint or any kind of break or injury. He did some neurological tests on her feet and legs and said she is having a lack of muscle contractions to move the limbs. He said in high producing birds, this is almost always a calcium deficiency. Calcium controls the contraction of muscle fibers. I did ask him about B Vitamin deficiency and he said no - extremely rare in birds, you almost never see it. I asked if he could give her a B Vitamin injection just in case, and he said it would be a waste of money and time. He is SURE that when this happens to birds, it is never a B Vitamin problem. Hmmmm. He did pull blood to test her calcium level and he will call me today. That will help us to know how much to be supplementing her with.

So, he put her on Osteo-Form calcim/phosphorous supplement, and Baytril suspension, just in case.

The GREAT news is that she stood up completely straight on her own several times last night - legs all the way up - and she even walked 7 steps once I got her home! Yes she looks like an old granny pushing a walker - but they are completely steps. That is the first she's moved in 8 days.

He said another distant possibility - hens that lay huge eggs can get pinched nerves as the large egg travels down the (??? can't remember the terminology he used). The tract, whatever it's called. And when that happens, it takes times for the swelling around the nerve sheath to reduce and restore movement to the bird's legs. He thought this was fairly unlikely for her because she lays these big eggs all the time and she never had a problem before. It's most likely when you have a hen who suddenly produces one really huge egg out of the blue. But - it is something we will consider if the calcium blood level comes back well within the normal range.

She is also getting a general vitamin/mineral powder in her drinking water and all the varied foods I can feed her. We stopped at Wendy's on the way home and she got a chicken salad.....she enjoyed the lettuce and shredded chicken.

As of this morning, her color has returned to her face. She was really pale and bleached out at the vet's office because she was so stressed from the car ride and blood draw.

She was really going after the oyster shell last night when we got home. So maybe she is really craving calcium?

Anyway, I'll keep updating in case anyone digs this thread up in the future and has a similar problem. Maybe Birta's experience can help someone, along with the other great posts that have been on this thread.

 

[Lobzi]

Such an easy solution! Im so glad it wasnt more serious. I am also grateful that you posted your vet results as it will help others.
Unfortunately in my cases the pullet and roo, of course, were not even laying and most never did. I will give the current afflicted ones calcium just in case though.
Thanks again for posting your results!