Mystery illness?

[tijer021]

Hello. Almost exactly one month ago, our hen (almost 2) was having a balancing issue. She would almost tip over. It wasn’t necessarily when she walked around, but when trying to groom herself or stretch, etc. About a week or so into this, she was put on meloxicam for 7 days. A vet who is not too experienced with chickens said her best guess was perhaps a spinal injury. The hen was completely fine in every other way. No symptoms at all. She was energetic, eating, drinking, pooping…everything as usual. On the 7th day, I finally noticed her balance issue going away. In its place were new symptoms. Suddenly, my hen who previously had no other issues was lethargic, standing around all puffed up with her eyes closed, spending the day either like that or lying down panting, feathers puffed up (wings included) sleeping most of the day. She also tends to breathe heavier and by that, I mean, her entire body moves in and out when she breathes. Another vet visit later, we have ruled out worms, Marek’s, mites, being egg bound, fowl pox…again, not a chicken expert vet, but she said my hen doesn’t seem to show signs of these things. Aside from the new symptoms, she looks great appearance-wise. But, you can tell when you look at her that she isn’t feeling well at all. And every now and then, we notice a little off balance movement, ever so briefly. It’s sort of like her back end slips a little. She’s had Poultry Cell and antibiotics and I just bought the Rooster Booster electrolyte powder today. A friend also suggested extra B12. At this point, no one seems to know what is wrong with her. The antibiotics didn’t help, and everything else we have given her hasn’t changed a thing. I give her scrambled eggs for protein, she’s inside, away from the others and things remain the same, weeks later. Since it seems we have ruled out contagious illnesses (or so we think), she’s been out during the day when it’s nice and sunny out, to be around the flock, because I thought it would be good for morale, but overall, you can just tell she isn’t feeling well at all. Is there something I’ve missed that we should be doing? Does any of this sound familiar to anyone? She’s a beloved pet and I hate to see anything happen to her, but I don’t want her to suffer forever either. I don’t know what to do. Could the anti-inflammatory have caused some sort of issue for her? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Almost exactly one month ago, our hen (almost 2) was having a balancing issue.

Almost exactly one month ago, our hen (almost 2) was having a balancing issue. She would almost tip over. It wasn’t necessarily when she walked around, but when trying to groom herself or stretch, etc. About a week or so into this, she was put on meloxicam for 7 days. A vet who is not too experienced with chickens said her best guess was perhaps a spinal injury. The hen was completely fine in every other way. No symptoms at all. She was energetic, eating, drinking, pooping…everything as usual.

Another vet visit later, we have ruled out worms, Marek’s, mites, being egg bound, fowl pox…again, not a chicken expert vet, but she said my hen doesn’t seem to show signs of these things. Aside from the new symptoms, she looks great appearance-wise.

Suddenly, my hen who previously had no other issues was lethargic, standing around all puffed up with her eyes closed, spending the day either like that or lying down panting, feathers puffed up (wings included) sleeping most of the day. She also tends to breathe heavier and by that, I mean, her entire body moves in and out when she breathes.

Is she the hen that's laying the membranes/questionable eggs or it that thread about another hen?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-is-going-on.1622001/

If she's not the hen in the other thread - when was the last time she laid and egg and are her eggs normal hard shelled?

What do you feed, including treats?

How was Marek's disease ruled out? Testing? PCR?
Worms were ruled out by a fecal float correct?

Is her crop emptying overnight?

Is there any bloat or feeling of fluid in the abdomen below the vent between the legs?

 

[tijer021]

Is she the hen that's laying the membranes/questionable eggs or it that thread about another hen?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-is-going-on.1622001/

If she's not the hen in the other thread - when was the last time she laid and egg and are her eggs normal hard shelled?

What do you feed, including treats?

How was Marek's disease ruled out? Testing? PCR?
Worms were ruled out by a fecal float correct?

Is her crop emptying overnight?

Is there any bloat or feeling of fluid in the abdomen below the vent between the legs?

Different hen. The other one seems to be just fine now.

This hen has not laid an egg since all of this has been going on. That part hasn’t concerned me because I know when hens are unwell, they often won’t lay during that time. She doesn’t appear to have egg bound symptoms, and at this point, I’m guessing she would be dead if she was egg bound for this long.

She eats Purina layer crumble. I’ve been giving her a bit of scrambled eggs in the morning and a tiny bit of yogurt in the evening.

I don’t have access to that kind of testing. Things were ruled out based on symptoms and observations during the exam. I’ve been told by several different people that if she had Marek’s she would be dead and my other hens would be showing symptoms too, so I’ve based it on that. It has been several weeks now that she’s been doing so poorly.

The reason I asked about the meloxicam causing issues is because I read a study where chickens who were given it twice a day, ended up with it causing issues. She was not given it twice a day, but perhaps her overall constitution is sensitive in a way that made it mess with her?

Other people have mentioned a neurological issue. I wasn’t sure about that until recently. I’ve noticed some sort of unusual things. Instead of eating and drinking from the front of her food and water containers, she’s standing in front of them, but taking from the back, despite perfectly fine access in the front. It appears that she cannot for whatever reason do it the way she always has right now. I also noticed that when she eats from my hand, if something drops she cannot pick it back up. She just cannot get it. Today she’s puffed up and panting, only the panting is louder and has a bit of a sort of whistle to it and I noticed her regular breathing sort of does too. I’ve listened to her chest with a stethoscope, but I’m not exactly sure what I should be listening for. I may compare it to the other hens and see if there’s anything noticeably different between them and her.

 

[LaFleche]

Suddenly, my hen who previously had no other issues was lethargic, standing around all puffed up with her eyes closed, spending the day either like that or lying down panting, feathers puffed up (wings included) sleeping most of the day. She also tends to breathe heavier and by that, I mean, her entire body moves in and out when she breathes.

Your description sounds like she is having trouble expelling shell-less eggs.

Try supplementing her with 1 tablet daily of calcium citrate 600 +vitamin D3 and a bit of vitamin c for 7-10 days. This should help her to build proper eggshells and expel any residues that might be lingering.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This hen has not laid an egg since all of this has been going on. That part hasn’t concerned me because I know when hens are unwell, they often won’t lay during that time.

I’ve been told by several different people that if she had Marek’s she would be dead and my other hens would be showing symptoms too, so I’ve based it on that.

She just cannot get it. Today she’s puffed up and panting, only the panting is louder and has a bit of a sort of whistle to it and I noticed her regular breathing sort of does too.

I agree, I start giving her extra Calcium to see if that helps. Often what's ailing a hen like this is reproductive.



Ehhh...no, not really about the Marek's. It seems to be hit and miss, even within a flock. One bird may be symptomatic while everyone else seems to be perfectly fine. Without testing, there's really no way to confirm or rule out Marek's disease.

If you do lose her, then having a necropsy through your state lab would give you a lot of information which can help you in the future.
Depending on where you live/what state, necropsy may be free to very expensive - you never know until you call them and speak with them. https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[Pumphrey]

Is she the hen that's laying the membranes/questionable eggs or it that thread about another hen?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-is-going-on.1622001/

If she's not the hen in the other thread - when was the last time she laid and egg and are her eggs normal hard shelled?

What do you feed, including treats?

How was Marek's disease ruled out? Testing? PCR?
Worms were ruled out by a fecal float correct?

Is her crop emptying overnight?

Is there any bloat or feeling of fluid in the abdomen below the vent between the legs?

I had a hen do something similar. She needed to us here wings for balance. Kind of looked drunk, lethargic. She would eat but when I felt under her, the keel was very prominent. Turned out she had crop impaction and wasn't getting enough nutrients. Vet had to do a minor procedure on her sedated, lanced the crop and fished out shavings that she had swallowed. I gave her metoclopramide to stimulate peristalsis and hand feed her soft food. After 2 weeks she was good as new.