5 month old hen can not walk, help please!

[Brahma_momma]

I have a 5 month old hen who can not walk. Symptoms started 4 days ago- she can move her legs but will not put any weight on them. She also has had some mucus in her nose.
I removed her from the coop and she is currently inside the garage in her own pen with a heat lamp for added warmth. She is eating and drinking. (Although her desire to do so is slightly fading).
She has no injury to her feet- no bumble foot, her hips are not displaced and no slipped tendons. I checked for mites-none.
I have not added any chickens to my flock in 2 years.
I did add a runner duck for a short time about 4 months ago until a new home was found for the little guy.
I have been giving her poultry cell for b vitamins and I have also tried the St. John’s wart for possible Mareks. There has been no improvement.
Some back ground on the hen:
She was hatched here at my home and raised by momma hen. And has had a problem free life until this strange illness.
I don’t want her to suffer but if she can get better I want to do what I can to help her recover.
I’m having a hard time determining when that point is to end it or to keep going.
Any advice is appreciated.
Does this sound like vitamin deficiency, Mareks, or something else?
Thank you!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Did you feel for any breaks, or signs of pain when moving the legs? How are the legs positioned? I would suspect Mareks at that age. If I didn't see any improvement after 1-2 weeks with vitamins and rest we would consider culling.

 

[Brahma_momma]

Did you feel for any breaks, or signs of pain when moving the legs? How are the legs positioned? I would suspect Mareks at that age. If I didn't see any improvement after 1-2 weeks with vitamins and rest we would consider culling.

Thank you for your reply!
Yes I did feel for breaks in her legs and I couldn’t feel anything that felt abnormal. Her legs are usually off to one side as she tends to want to position herself on one side. Every now and again I have repositioned her after she tries to move and one leg slips behind her.
I really hope it’s not Mareks.. I just don’t know where she could have gotten it from! None of the other chickens are sick. But I agree it really is presenting like that disease.the only other thing I will add (that may help) is when I pick her up she pulls her legs up like a typical chicken would- they don’t dangle. Could a URI make her not want to walk?
I was thinking of culling in 1 week. Thank you for your advice!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Mareks is everywhere, and can blow in on the wind or be brought in by wild birds. It's spread by the dander, so I think it's impossible to avoid it. When I've seen it here it usually is one bird, occasionally two in a season, but has never been multiple birds. Mareks is a viral cancer that cause tumors I believe, which than pushes on the nerves which cause problems with walking. Occasionally a large egg can cause the same problem, but I don't think yours is laying yet?

We often don't treat here as my experiences is it doesn't generally help. The only thing is if it's a vitamin deficiency. That sometimes can be helped.

We definitely have more experienced members with health issues than me, so hopefully someone else can add some advice.

 

[Eggcessive]

You might want to try a chicken sling chair to make it easier to treat her. I really hope it is not Mareks. If you should cull or lose her, your state vet could do a necropsy to look for Mareks. Here is a list of state vet labs for necropsies:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...7IOlHOhP-eD8qMtZ70RNq6BMO9kVUn3x6so7q0Z_JgEr8
Here is a good thread on how to make a chicken sling, especially the first 2 pages:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

 

[Brahma_momma]

You might want to try a chicken sling chair to make it easier to treat her. I really hope it is not Mareks. If you should cull or lose her, your state vet could do a necropsy to look for Mareks. Here is a list of state vet labs for necropsies:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...7IOlHOhP-eD8qMtZ70RNq6BMO9kVUn3x6so7q0Z_JgEr8
Here is a good thread on how to make a chicken sling, especially the first 2 pages:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

Thank you for the info, since my last post we’ve had 3 hens come down with whatever this illness is.
We did cull all 3 of them because all 3 did not improve on vitamin B2/ poultry cell. And would no longer eat or drink.
We sent one to the state vet lab for full necropsy and have partial results. Fecal normal. Avian influenza negative. No tumors or abnormalities of the sciatic nerve, still waiting on microbiology on the tissues and a full diagnostic report.
I’m super confused.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for the losses. What state are you in? Please let us know what the state vet finds out. If possible, post pictures of the results.

 

[Brahma_momma]

Sorry for the losses. What state are you in? Please let us know what the state vet finds out. If possible, post pictures of the results.

Thank you. We are in Colorado, I’ll gladly post final results!

 

[Brahma_momma]

Microscopic findings of lymphomas on sciatic and autonomic nerves were found and pathologists final diagnosis is Mareks disease.

 

[Kiki]

Microscopic findings of lymphomas on sciatic and autonomic nerves were found and pathologists final diagnosis is Mareks disease.

Thanks for updating your thread.