Wobbly Hen-Injury or Mareks (or ?)

[2ndTink]

Just for reference for anyone reading this post later, the skullcap can't be just any skullcap, it must be Chinese Skullcap and it needs to have the baicalin verified, this is the ingredient that research is showing effective against the virus.

 

[Closing Time]

So… this morning she is markedly better. Still not 100% but much more stable on her feet and able to finally scratch her face without losing her balance. She’s able to hold herself up normally to eat, while yesterday afternoon she would set back on her haunches after losing her balance and just eat sitting down. Walking with much more confidence, and presenting tipsy more like she did when this first started, on occasion or when she moves too quickly in a turn. I’ll continue with the current course of treatment and hope we’re moving in the right direction.

Cautiously optimistic.

On another note, one of my other girls finally squatted for me so we may finally be close to seeing some eggs around here.

 

[Sylver Queen]

Just for reference for anyone reading this post later, the skullcap can't be just any skullcap, it must be Chinese Skullcap and it needs to have the baicalin verified, this is the ingredient that research is showing effective against the virus.

Do you have any links to a product that is ready to use for chickens? I have just learned that this exists and definitely want it for my flock and some for myself but there are so many different products I'm not sure how to dose for chickens. I saw on a poultry website that full-grown hens should have 1000mg per kg of diet, but I don't know how to do that. Any information is appreciated!

 

[2ndTink]

So… this morning she is markedly better. Still not 100% but much more stable on her feet and able to finally scratch her face without losing her balance. She’s able to hold herself up normally to eat, while yesterday afternoon she would set back on her haunches after losing her balance and just eat sitting down. Walking with much more confidence, and presenting tipsy more like she did when this first started, on occasion or when she moves too quickly in a turn. I’ll continue with the current course of treatment and hope we’re moving in the right direction.

Cautiously optimistic.

On another note, one of my other girls finally squatted for me so we may finally be close to seeing some eggs around here.

This is great news! Cautiously optimistic but celebrating anyway

Ooh, it's almost egg time!

 

[2ndTink]

Do you have any links to a product that is ready to use for chickens? I have just learned that this exists and definitely want it for my flock and some for myself but there are so many different products I'm not sure how to dose for chickens. I saw on a poultry website that full-grown hens should have 1000mg per kg of diet, but I don't know how to do that. Any information is appreciated!

Lol, no definitely not 1,000mg!

 

[Closing Time]

Opinions on recovery time frames for vitamin deficiency. George appeared much better yesterday but this morning she was less so. Found her sleeping on the poop board again this morning but she had been on the roost at lights out. Again, appetite is strong. No paralysis in her legs and wings. She curls her toes around my fingers and pushes back hard against me. It’s just presenting as the tipsy, inconsistent ataxia.

Trying to determine rule outs and when I should consider we are looking at a mechanical vs metabolic vs viral. I know it’s a crap shoot because…chickens. This is the fourth day of supplementation with improvement shown yesterday and slight decomp today. I’ve decided to keep her in the crate at this point in the event the causative factor is mechanical/injury and confinement is needed to heal. She’s less stressed than she has been now that she’s been having snack time in the crate the past few days and I’m not concerned about her injuring herself further.

So, if vitamin deficiency, when should I expect to see significant improvement once supplementation begins? She’s never been immobile or paralyzed and we are a week out from initial presentation of symptoms, fourth day of supplementation.

Thank you!

 

[2ndTink]

She curls her toes around my fingers and pushes back hard against me.

This is a good sign that she can curl her toes to indicate its not Mareks. For my paralysis Mareks chickens they could push their leg out but not pull it back in and could not grip with their toes.

So, if vitamin deficiency, when should I expect to see significant improvement once supplementation begins? She’s never been immobile or paralyzed and we are a week out from initial presentation of symptoms, fourth day of supplementation.

I had a young chicken with wry neck, he took a few weeks of treatment and he had better and worse days along the way. Vitamin deficiencies take time to resolve and even past symptoms going away you'll want to treat for a few more weeks to make sure their vitamins are fully restored.

 

[Closing Time]

Thank you for the feedback!! We shall just keep on keeping on here.

 

[Closing Time]

We are 12 days out from when she first began presenting with her wobbly symptoms. She is better than her worst day, appears stronger at times and then not so much. All vitals still normal. Still no paralysis in her limbs and wings though she does get stiff sometimes with one leg, but then normal (not limping and not dragging it, just stiff like maybe she’s taking some shuffle steps). Curls her toes and pushes and pulls with her legs. Wobbly to the side and sometimes goes tipsy or sits back when she loses her balance. Appetite is great still. I saw her eat oyster shell for the first time yesterday. I’ve been using the layer pellets as treats to deliver her meds since she prefers them to the All Flock.

This morning she got a burst of energy and ran to the nesting box, then to me, then to the nesting box. She tried to climb up in it but was struggling so she just laid on the floor in front of it. I went and got a step for her and then left her alone.

-Could this be an egg that’s been stuck and is pinching a nerve?
-Would that be something that takes this long?

She doesn’t seem egg bound, at least not showing any of those symptoms and is pooping just fine. Reminder, she hasn’t come in to lay at over 7 months yet.

 

[2ndTink]

We are 12 days out from when she first began presenting with her wobbly symptoms. She is better than her worst day, appears stronger at times and then not so much. All vitals still normal. Still no paralysis in her limbs and wings though she does get stiff sometimes with one leg, but then normal (not limping and not dragging it, just stiff like maybe she’s taking some shuffle steps). Curls her toes and pushes and pulls with her legs. Wobbly to the side and sometimes goes tipsy or sits back when she loses her balance. Appetite is great still. I saw her eat oyster shell for the first time yesterday. I’ve been using the layer pellets as treats to deliver her meds since she prefers them to the All Flock.

This morning she got a burst of energy and ran to the nesting box, then to me, then to the nesting box. She tried to climb up in it but was struggling so she just laid on the floor in front of it. I went and got a step for her and then left her alone.

-Could this be an egg that’s been stuck and is pinching a nerve?
-Would that be something that takes this long?

She doesn’t seem egg bound, at least not showing any of those symptoms and is pooping just fine. Reminder, she hasn’t come in to lay at over 7 months yet.

Have you felt to see if her keel and ribs are straight? I haven't heard of a pullet having a pinched nerve from an egg, but I did have a cockerel with a very curved keel so it threw his body out of alignment. I noticed he was laying down more as he got older, we processed him at about 5 months old and found the deformity. He was really wild so checking him sooner wouldn't have been easy and honestly I never even thought that it could be a deformity!

Or maybe she has inflammation causing pressure on a nerve, or cancer? Is there anything toxic like mold or a chemical she could have gotten into?

She may have some internal deformity, development issue or genetic, that is causing her symptoms. Unfortunately most causes can't be determined while they are alive, and you only know after a necropsy.

If she seems otherwise healthy I'd just keep doing the vitamins.

It would be possible as a pullet should wouldn't have started laying through the winter, I'm not sure if the 7 months and no egg is a sign or not. If she's starting to eat oyster shell she might lay soon.

Along with the vitamins you could try giving her a calcium pill each day.

If you wanted you could test her for Mareks, you would need to do a PCR test, RAL labs does this, you order a swab kit from them and send the swab + blood sample for analysis. The challenge there is just because she tests positive for Mareks doesn't mean that is what's wrong with her. Mareks can allow so many secondary things to take hold in the chicken and can also cause cancer.