Yinjing
In the Brooder
- Dec 3, 2018
- 7
- 2
- 11
Hi everyone,
There are a lot of wild chickens in my neighborhood, and I've been taking care of them occasionally for about a year. I dont know much about chickens, but this past year I've seen so many baby chickens die that I felt like I needed to step up.
About 3 days ago I brought in a little hen (2 or 3 months old) because her mom abandoned her, and she was extremely unbalanced on her feet, sticking her wings out as support. The following day both her feet were curled up (paralyzed?), and she exhibits extreme lethargy (sleeping or closing her eyes 90% of the day), inability to use her legs, she drags herself left or right with her wings, and she had EXTREMELY foul smelling runny orange droppings.
I have been giving her pedialyte mixed with a little apple juice and B vitamin, blueberries, bird seed, and some cocci medicine.
Today, her droppings have gotten solid, though they are now green and mucousy and still smell VERY foul. She is still very lethargic. I sit with her in my lap or on a pillow with paper towels all day, feeding her and giving her water every hour if she takes it. Her appetite has slightly decreased. And her breathing has been consistently labored. If I coo at her, she responds with a very cute and light trill. She often preens herself.
She had one incident where she rolled off the pillow onto her back and made no attempt to fix herself. She doesnt make any attempt to utilize her legs either.
I'm very worried that this is Marecks, being that they are wild chickens with no caretaker and have no vaccines. HOWEVER, her toes are curled up instead of splayed out, so perhaps it is a riboflavin deficiency?
I would love some insight on this, and I really want to see this lovely girl recover!
EDIT: Her crop is usually quite empty, even after she has eaten. Her mouth and tongue look fine, no odor.
There are a lot of wild chickens in my neighborhood, and I've been taking care of them occasionally for about a year. I dont know much about chickens, but this past year I've seen so many baby chickens die that I felt like I needed to step up.
About 3 days ago I brought in a little hen (2 or 3 months old) because her mom abandoned her, and she was extremely unbalanced on her feet, sticking her wings out as support. The following day both her feet were curled up (paralyzed?), and she exhibits extreme lethargy (sleeping or closing her eyes 90% of the day), inability to use her legs, she drags herself left or right with her wings, and she had EXTREMELY foul smelling runny orange droppings.
I have been giving her pedialyte mixed with a little apple juice and B vitamin, blueberries, bird seed, and some cocci medicine.
Today, her droppings have gotten solid, though they are now green and mucousy and still smell VERY foul. She is still very lethargic. I sit with her in my lap or on a pillow with paper towels all day, feeding her and giving her water every hour if she takes it. Her appetite has slightly decreased. And her breathing has been consistently labored. If I coo at her, she responds with a very cute and light trill. She often preens herself.
She had one incident where she rolled off the pillow onto her back and made no attempt to fix herself. She doesnt make any attempt to utilize her legs either.
I'm very worried that this is Marecks, being that they are wild chickens with no caretaker and have no vaccines. HOWEVER, her toes are curled up instead of splayed out, so perhaps it is a riboflavin deficiency?
I would love some insight on this, and I really want to see this lovely girl recover!
EDIT: Her crop is usually quite empty, even after she has eaten. Her mouth and tongue look fine, no odor.
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