Wobbly Chick - what to do??

[uisceros]

Hi everyone,

I swear, I love keeping chickens but man is it stressful. My newest issue is a little chick who is super wobbly.

Here’s the details:
Chick was hatched around May 20th, so she is about 5 weeks old. She is a golden d’uccle with a porcelain d’uccle buddy. I bought them from a feed store (thus no vaccinations I assume). I go back and forth between feeding them normal chick feed and medicated. She was on medicated for maybe 2-3 weeks, and now back to normal. They’re in a brooder pen in my basement with a brooding plate. About a week ago I introduced three Serama chicks to the brooder. These chicks are older by two weeks, but smaller. The person I got them from hatched them herself. Normally I would separate and quarantine, but of course this one time I didn’t since I knew where the babies came from.

She was normal until the last few days. Yesterday I noticed she was super wobbly. She still runs around and eats but her right side seems to be the issue. She can still flap and walk, just unsteady. No other birds seem affected. Idk if it matters, but the other d’uccle who she’s been with this whole time is a lot larger and also a cockerel. So if it is a deficiency I assume it wouldn’t affect him as much simply based on size.

I gave her a few drops of nutridrench last night, and mixed some rooster booster vitamins/electrolytes in their water.

Does this sound like thiamine deficiency? Or are we thinking Mareks? How long does thiamine deficiency take to resolve?

As always, thanks for the help! I’ve had birds for only two years so I’m still a newbie!

 

[uisceros]

Bumping this up - she’s still wobbly

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you get a video of her? Upload video to YouTube and provide a link.

I'd give her 1/4 tablet B-Complex once daily for a couple of weeks. Doesn't really sound like Thiamine deficiency, medicated feed has a very tiny amount of Amprolium and she's not been eating the feed for very long.

 

[uisceros]

Can you get a video of her? Upload video to YouTube and provide a link.

I'd give her 1/4 tablet B-Complex once daily for a couple of weeks. Doesn't really sound like Thiamine deficiency, medicated feed has a very tiny amount of Amprolium and she's not been eating the feed for very long.

Here’s the video. They’re still in the brooder as you can see.

I wonder if it’s neurological. She’s a pet, so I’m not bothered if it’s just how she is.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Could be neurological.

I'd give 400IU Vitamin E along with the 1/4 tablet B-Complex - give both daily.

Very cute group of chicks you have there!

 

[uisceros]

Could be neurological.

I'd give 400IU Vitamin E along with the 1/4 tablet B-Complex - give both daily.

Very cute group of chicks you have there!

Thanks! I gave her the first dose of B-complex and vitamin E today. Her beak is too small for the whole pill, so I had to break it and squeeze it in.

She’s still eating, drinking, chirping, and pooping as normal. Nothing is paralyzed, so I’m not suspecting Mareks AS MUCH, but you never know.

How long should I continue the vitamins?

Thanks! They’re all super cute - my little bantam babies

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'd give the vitamins for at least 2 weeks, then go from there.

 

[uisceros]

I'd give the vitamins for at least 2 weeks, then go from there.

The good news is that she continues to grow (her d’uccle beard is coming in), eat, drink, and poop like a normal chicken. She moves all her limbs - no paralysis.

The bad news is she is still REALLY wobbly. It seems to be getting worse (though part of that might be that she’s a teenage chicken and is growing into her legs). Her brood mates are all unaffected by whatever is happening to her, and are being protective of her.

I’ve been giving her the B complex and E for a week now. Hopefully it starts helping soon!

 

[uisceros]

Hi all,

So the poor thing is still super wobbly. Her head bobs a lot, and while she can still walk and flap her wings, she often holds herself really low to the ground. She spends most of her time laying down. She still eats and drinks though.

It's been about 3 weeks since I started noticing the symptoms (she's about 9 weeks old). Should I still keep giving her the B complex and vitamin E, or at this time should I just accept it's a neurological issue caused by a virus?

If it is AE (which I suspect), will she ever "get better"? Or is she going to be like this forever? I will say that she's mostly okay, doesn't seem to be in pain necessarily, and her brood mates are all protective over her. She is not attacked, trampled, or pushed aside for food.

Personally I don't mind having a disabled chicken - she'd be one of three that I currently have. But I also don't want her to suffer, or not do something that could help her. Should I try anything else?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sorry to hear she's not improved a lot.

You can continue with the vitamins for a while longer to see if they help.

Sounds like you are on the right track that she may be suffering from something neurologic hard to know what's causing it.

If possible, collect a sample of her poop and have your vet do a fecal float to rule out parasites, just in case they are contributing to her condition.