Young chicken trouble standing/walking; possibly egg bound?

[Sara Odendahl]

Hello!
We are new chicken owners with a flock of five hens. One has started laying eggs, and the others are close. One hen in particular started looking sick over the weekend. She is having trouble walking/standing and often reverts to sitting down. While she has not yet laid an egg, we thought she may be egg bound as she has some of those traditional symptoms. However when we examined her we didn't feel any eggs. We also gave her additional calcium and a warm epsom salt bath, and no changes.

So we are beginning to think she has another condition. Anyone else have any ideas or experience with similar issues?

Thanks in advance!
Sara (Denver, CO)

 

[Fiona394]

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/90/mareks-disease/

 

[Sara Odendahl]

Thanks for the resource; she has been vaccinated for Merck's disease per the feed store we bought her and other chicks from last spring. She was still in the same state when we came home from work; wobbly on her legs and a preference for sitting. Her eyes are clear and her comb is still healthy looking. She has lost weight and just appears weak in general. We are going to pull her out of the coop and given her some TLC for the next few days. Here is a pic of her squatting on the ground, and any other resources or thoughts are welcome!

 

[RichtmanRanch]

I had a hen earlier this summer get egg bound. Or something similar, the egg ended up breaking inside her. Found the evidence under her roost spot. She was not interested in eating walking. She was like this for about 24 hours id guess before I noticed it. I isolated her. Ended up giving her two warm water baths. You can also (using a rubber glove) using your finer and olive oil, gently rub the oil in and around her vent. Put electrolights in her water. It took my girl 2 days of isolation to eventually lay another egg, and about 3 days to feel better. Yes isolate her in a quite warm place. A less stressful environment may help her work it through. Offer yogurt or scrambled eggs mixed with a bit of olive oil.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @Sara Odendahl Welcome To BYC

How long have you had her - how old is she?
What type of food/treats do you feed?
What does her poop look like?
Any noticeable bloat/swelling or feeling of fluid in the abdomen?

It's hard to know what's going on with your pullet. Check her crop to see if it's emptying overnight, look for any lice/mites or cuts/scrapes to her legs and feet. Feel the abdomen for any swelling or feeling of fluid that could indicate internal laying. Having a fecal float to rule out Coccidiosis and worms won't hurt.

There are so many things that can affect the legs - from vitamin/nutritional deficiency or genetic/developmental disorders to diseases like Marek's. fwiw - Marek's vaccination prevents tumor formation, it does not prevent infection by the virus.

Provide her with Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) either through poultry vitamins or crushing a human B-Complex tab and add it to her food daily. See that she is drinking well and eating.
Keep us posted.

 

[Sara Odendahl]

Thanks for the great tips. To answer some questions: She is approx. 4 months old we purchased her from a local (reputable) feed store in April. We feed her a variety of herbs, mealworms and scratch as treats. Poop is normal and no swelling or bloating to speak of. Her crop is emptying and her body looks clean for lice or mites. She is not eating or drinking well, so we are trying to get her nutrients and vitamins via syringe. She is just very weak, not standing much at this point and increasing shaking her head (side to side like her neck is wobbly). She didn't look good at all when we left for work this morning. Not sure what else we can be doing at this point... but thanks for the assistance!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks for the update. I hope she is doing better, keep us posted.