Wobbling Deathlayer

[Catastrophic]

This is my second try with Deathlayers and I think if my hen dies I will give up. Two days ago she has been very wobbly but is still eating and drinking and still wants to be with the rest of the flock. Today I checked on her and she still has the same symptoms so am starting to get very concerned that it may be something very serious which I truly hope not. I gave her some antibiotics, and she still seemed somewhat active. I’m not sure why I have had such bad luck with this breed. Is it just the breed? The two roosters seem very healthy and active. I already lost 4 deathlayers and have lost a lot of money. If she dies I think I’m gonna give up on chickens and go back to raising pheasants. Thanks for any advice and God bless.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

If you lose her, it would be good to get a necropsy to find out what's going on .
Refrigerate the body and send it to your state lab.

Do you have photos of her? Poop?

I would look around and make sure no feed has gotten moldy, that she's not eaten anything toxic or rotten.
Look her over for lice/mites, make sure her crop is emptying overnight.
How old is she? Have you checked for egg binding?
Is she with 2 roosters? How much space? Could she be being kept from food/water and overmated?
What do you feed? I would get her hydrated, offer some vitamins or electrolytes. See that she's eating well. Chick starter or an all flock feed would be good. Egg, meat or fish can be offered as a treat.
Things to look at.



https://www.ksvhc.org/
Kansas State University
Veterinary Clinical Services Building
1800 Denison Avenue
Manhattan, KS 66506 US
785-532-4244
fax: 785-532-4481

 

[Catastrophic]

I saw her poop once and it seemed very liquid-like water. There is a possibility that she is being overmated. We had a lot of really weird weather down here recently in Kansas with it being 60 degrees yesterday and now snowing to almost 10 inches.

 

[oellian]

Update? It sounds like it could be neurological. If you're very lucky, it's a vitamin deficiency. If you're and she are less lucky, it's Marek's or one of the other somewhat similar viruses. Have your birds been vaccinated for Marek's? It's a fairly ubiquitous virus that can be carried by wild birds, so it can be hard to avoid. And if they get ill with these viruses, it can leave them immunocompromised and prone to higher than normal parasite loads that lead to abnormal poops of all kinds, depending on the type of parasite.

Here's a quote from the necropsy:

It appears she has a virus that is causing cancer and tumor formation in multiple organs. There are three viruses that show the same symptoms, and these are Mareks, Reticuloendothelial virus, and Avian Leukosis Virus. The viruses are incurable, and they can be transferred to other birds within the flock. For this reason, we recommend keeping a closed flock and not introducing new birds.

 

[Catastrophic]

Update? It sounds like it could be neurological. If you're very lucky, it's a vitamin deficiency. If you're and she are less lucky, it's Marek's or one of the other somewhat similar viruses. Have your birds been vaccinated for Marek's? It's a fairly ubiquitous virus that can be carried by wild birds, so it can be hard to avoid. And if they get ill with these viruses, it can leave them immunocompromised and prone to higher than normal parasite loads that lead to abnormal poops of all kinds, depending on the type of parasite.

Here's a quote from the necropsy:

It appears she has a virus that is causing cancer and tumor formation in multiple organs. There are three viruses that show the same symptoms, and these are Mareks, Reticuloendothelial virus, and Avian Leukosis Virus. The viruses are incurable, and they can be transferred to other birds within the flock. For this reason, we recommend keeping a closed flock and not introducing new birds.

She was starting to get better after two days but then another cold spell hit and it was the final nail in the coffin for her. It appears to be bronchitis to me or a genetic problem. I have since given up on deathlayer hens and got some queen cinnamon hens and kept the deathlayer roosters. But the deathlayer roosters seem to be the only hardy ones and never catching the diseases or usually healing well. Only kept the roosters because they are beautiful and they are pretty tame with me but deathlayers are just too much of a hassle and effort for little reward.