Young Hen stumbling, limping, drooping tail intermittently

[Mrsyinger]

I have a hen that is 3 months old that I noticed a couple weeks ago laying under the roost in the coop when she got up she was stumbling backwards and then seemed to be limping when walking forward and her tail was drooping down. I brought her in gave her some multi vitamins, and within a couple days she was doing better walking and when I took her outside she ran/flew straight back to the flock! Then a week or so later she was back in the same condition barely able to walk and her tail drooping. Any ideas?!

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you watched to see if they are keeping her from food and water? Is she limping now or having problems with balance. Can you get her drinking water with electrolytes and get her eating some wet chicken feed and scrambled egg? What do her poops look like? How does her crop feel—empty and flat, full, hard, doughy or puffy? Has she lost weight? Was she vaccinated for Mareks disease?

 

[Mrsyinger]

Have you watched to see if they are keeping her from food and water? Is she limping now or having problems with balance. Can you get her drinking water with electrolytes and get her eating some wet chicken feed and scrambled egg? What do her poops look like? How does her crop feel—empty and flat, full, hard, doughy or puffy? Has she lost weight? Was she vaccinated for Mareks disease?

I have not watched go see if they are keeping her from food but I can do that once I put her back in the main coop. She is limping and seems to have balance issues both. More balance issues I guess. She has been eating and drinking water with electrolytes and oral multivitamins in her isolation coop. She has not lost a noticeable amount of weight and she was not vaccinated.

 

[Eggcessive]

See if one leg is weak or paralyzed. Hopefully not. Can you post a short video of her walking to YouTube or Vimeo with a link posted here? Does she roost at night or sleep on the floor? Do you have a picture of her lying down?

 

[Mrsyinger]

See if one leg is weak or paralyzed. Hopefully not. Can you post a short video of her walking to YouTube or Vimeo with a link posted here? Does she roost at night or sleep on the floor? Do you have a picture of her lying down?

My husband and I both examined her and it doesn’t seem that her legs are injured in any way and she doesn’t seem in pain when we feel her feet and legs. I will snap a picture I have never uploaded a video to those platforms but I can try!

 

[Mrsyinger]

See if one leg is weak or paralyzed. Hopefully not. Can you post a short video of her walking to YouTube or Vimeo with a link posted here? Does she roost at night or sleep on the floor? Do you have a picture of her lying down?

Oh and she was not sleeping on the roost she was sleeping on the floor.

 

[oellian]

Any more developments? I have something sort of similar going on.

 

[Mrsyinger]

Any more developments? I have something sort of similar going on.

The conclusion I’ve come to is that it is a vitamin deficiency I think caused by her being at the low end of the pecking order that is just now being established. When given oral vitamins and food in an isolation situation she perked up quickly (within a couple days). But just observation from the flock is telling me there are several other hens picking on her and sometimes keeping her from food. Im planning to add another feeder if it becomes an issue again and if they never sort out the pecking order to where she would be allowed to eat I guess I would consider selling her. She is a really pretty golden cuckoo maran though and I don’t really want to do that!

 

[oellian]

I tend to think along the lines of "the more, the merrier" when it comes to feeders. Redundancy also allows you to overlook an empty feeder for a day without harm. It also acts as a warning system for when you're getting low on feed. With numerous feeders, you'll have a natural buffer when you realize you're low our out. That's particularly important for me, since my source of organic feed isn't right around the corner...

 

[Eggcessive]

I always have 2 places for food and water just for the more meek chickens. Make sure that she gets some time each day to fill up when you are visiting. A treat of scrambled egg or tuna, and some wet feed can be attractive. I spread them out so everyone has a chance.