White leghorn lethargic and weak - I don't know why.

[Lolathechicken]

I got this little lady on March 12th so she is approx 17 weeks old.

She was fine until approx 2 weeks ago when she seemed to be a bit weak and lethargic. The first thing I recall noticing is that she seemed pale around her eyes and in her comb. Her eyes seemed beady as a result.

I immediately started Corid. She was outside with her flock for the first week but when she could no longer get to her perch, I brought her inside.

Treating with Corid showed no improvement. She has continued to lose weight and grow weaker.

Eventually, I noticed that her semi-runny poo had turned to green liquid and she could no longer stand. She also stopped eating and drinking so (4 days ago), I decided to start tube feeding.

For the first day and a half, I just gave her the save-a-chick priobiotics and electrolights. Then I did an epsom flush and more electro lights. For the past two days, I have been doing mashed pellets with probiotics/electrolights and a little babyfood mixed in. I have been doing 60-70ml 2x per day.

Her poops are firming up and i do not see any worms. But, she isn't getting stronger. At all. She doesn't move all day. She just sleeps in the basket I put her in. .I have pads under her butt and swap them out periodically and bathe her daily.

How long should I expect her to be so weak? Am I feeding her enough? Should I switch to baby parrot food?

I have been stretching her neck and legs daily (PT). Anything else I should do?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @Lolathechicken Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry to hear about your leghorn.
Can you post some photos or a video of her?
From your description it sounds like she is paralyzed? Is that correct?
Does she try to move with her wings?
You mention that you are stretching her neck - is it drawn in, twisted, etc.?
What type of food/treats do you feed?

It's very hard to know what's going on, there's so many things it could be. Marek's comes to mind with parts of your description. If you have a vet that can see her that would be a good idea.

Add some poultry vitamins that contain B vitamins daily to her meal. If you can't find one, then crush a human B-Complex tablet and add it to the feed mixture.

Keep us posted.
Does she act anything like the chickens in these videos?

 

[Lolathechicken]

I do not think it is Marek's. She isn't behaving like the videos at all. When I bathe her (to get poo off her bottom), she does wiggle around a bit if she doesn't like the way she is being held. She also gets a little crabby and wiggles when it is time to insert the tube into her throat/crop.

She is not paralyzed. If I pick her up and stretch her legs out, and then place her standing on them, she can hold her legs straight but just for a couple seconds before she gets wobbly. She does move her wings slightly, too, so I know she had control.

She opens her eye/eyes whenever I come in the room or when I am holding her and doing physical therapy. I really think she is just too weak to move around. I will post a photo. I can take a video, too, but it will look just like the photo. She really does not do much.

I will say that when she first got sick, I was suspicious that she may have botulism. One of my young roosters had botulism and he behaved very similarly except that he dragged his head when he walked. This lady doesn't seem to have those issues (though her neck is shorter) but that is why I did the epsom treatment. The only other thing that I can think of that it could be is some sort of bacteria/fungus.

We had some straw bales next to our house for the winter and when we moved them out, there was significant mold growing in them. This is not a part of the yard that the chickens frequent but my boyfriend does recall catching the leghorns over there on cleanup day (between loads to the compost) and shooing them back over to the woods/barn. So, it's possible that she ate something over there and that caused this. I believe the epsom salt treatment may have helped that, too??

Basically, what I am saying is that it is possible that whatever has caused the illness may be resolved. But she is really far gone right now. She has literally NO fat on her body and she is very weak. And I have no idea if I am feeding her enough to help her pull out of this low. Or if I am even feeding her the right thing.

I usually feed a combination of scratch grain and layer pellets. Do you need to know the brand? I can't remember off hand but I can check when I get home from work. Right now I have been mashing up pellets and mixing in a bit of baby food (for consistency and glucose). I have also added blended up eggs on one occasion.

Our normal vet does not treat chickens. I might be able to get help at the University of Minnesota but that would be a very difficult thing to do.

 

[Lolathechicken]

Here is a photo for now.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Poor sweet girl

How long have you been feeding her layer pellets?

You can try feeding her a wet slurry of chick starter or if she will eat on her own, chopped egg, chick starter, etc. Some people do use Kaytee Baby Bird formula as well. Keeping her hydrated is most important.

I'll give you the link to the tube feeding thread. @casportpony is great with tips, if you run into trouble, I'm sure you can pm her for help.

 

[Lolathechicken]

I was incorrect. I have been feeding them crumble, not pellets. I used the grower crumble until they were 10 or 11 weeks then mixed with the layer. They don't eat much crumble though. They have free run of our property and mostly eat bugs and plants in the yard and woods.

We also feed them all sorts of other stuff: watermelon, fresh corn on the cob, oatmeal, etc. They are spoiled.

She is too weak to eat or drink on her own at all. I had my daughter pick up the Kaytee today and I'll switch to that tonight.

I'll check out that forum now - thanks for the tip!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you take her to a vet?
What does her poop look like?

Having a fecal test to check for Cocci or worms would be a good idea.

 

[Lolathechicken]

Kenny died last night. :-(

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm very sorry