Hen (5 year old) - Stumbling & Falling

[Lindenksh]

Hi there,

I have a 5 year-old hen Baby (Buff Orpington/Barred Rock mix) who started stumbling/falling this morning (Oct 3rd) when she came out of the henhouse and into the run. She is at her normal weight again (she got quite thin a couple months ago when she was broody but she has regained the weight).

She is one of 9 hens, and no other hens are exhibiting the exact same symptoms. One other hen (CT) has gone through a significant molt, and lost a bit of weight perhaps (hard to tell if it's just the loss of feather bulk, she is a hard one to catch so I don't have a good sense of her weight). I cannot see any sign of injury, bumblefoot, cuts, or anything else on Baby. I soaked her in warm water, as she had a lot of poop on her vent/back feathers. Her poop looks relatively normal - brown, but mostly wet/runny. Now that I've cleaned her I'll be able to monitor better and see what her poop looks like going forward.

I have observed her eating (laying pellets) and drinking water today. She also nibbled on some oyster shells and has been out scratching in the run. She hopped out of the indoor run and into the outdoor run as normal, walking and scratching while stumbling. There was some moldy squash I found in the run today and threw out. There was also some zucchini, but that was fresh and did not look rotten at all.

I could not see any signs of mites or anything (though her vent area is quite bare due right now) - a couple other chickens are going through a molt so I didn't think anything of it but now I wonder if it's connected.

Her crop is full - I plan to check it tomorrow morning to make sure it fully emptied.

I added some nutri-drench to her water (poultry vitamin supplement).

I'd like to treat her myself since she is still eating and drinking.

I don't think she is egg bound - she is definitely not penguin-walking and I had a chicken that I think was egg-bound awhile back and this definitely seems different.

Indoor bedding is mostly pine shavings - outdoor run has dirt and wood chips.

I researched Marek's Disease and so far don't see any other symptoms within her except for the mobility difficulty.

I do have a video, but cannot upload it here. Here are some photos - but I'm not sure how helpful they'll be.

Thanks in advance for any insights!

 

[GodLovesU]

Idk what’s wrong with her but she’s gorgeous!Thats not what I thought that hybrid would look like!

 

[Lindenksh]

Idk what’s wrong with her but she’s gorgeous!Thats not what I thought that hybrid would look like!

I have a 5 year-old hen Baby (Buff Orpington/Barred Rock mix) who started stumbling/falling this morning (Oct 3rd) when she came out of the henhouse and into the run. She is at her normal weight again (she got quite thin a couple months ago when she was broody but she has regained the weight).

She is one of 9 hens, and no other hens are exhibiting the exact same symptoms. One other hen (CT) has gone through a significant molt, and lost a bit of weight perhaps (hard to tell if it's just the loss of feather bulk, she is a hard one to catch so I don't have a good sense of her weight). I cannot see any sign of injury, bumblefoot, cuts, or anything else on Baby. I soaked her in warm water, as she had a lot of poop on her vent/back feathers. Her poop looks relatively normal - brown, but mostly wet/runny. Now that I've cleaned her I'll be able to monitor better and see what her poop looks like going forward.

I have observed her eating (laying pellets) and drinking water today. She also nibbled on some oyster shells and has been out scratching in the run. She hopped out of the indoor run and into the outdoor run as normal, walking and scratching while stumbling. There was some moldy squash I found in the run today and threw out. There was also some zucchini, but that was fresh and did not look rotten at all.

I could not see any signs of mites or anything (though her vent area is quite bare due right now) - a couple other chickens are going through a molt so I didn't think anything of it but now I wonder if it's connected.

Her crop is full - I plan to check it tomorrow morning to make sure it fully emptied.

I added some nutri-drench to her water (poultry vitamin supplement).

I'd like to treat her myself since she is still eating and drinking.

I don't think she is egg bound - she is definitely not penguin-walking and I had a chicken that I think was egg-bound awhile back and this definitely seems different.

Indoor bedding is mostly pine shavings - outdoor run has dirt and wood chips.

I researched Marek's Disease and so far don't see any other symptoms within her except for the mobility difficulty.

I do have a video, but cannot upload it here. Here are some photos - but I'm not sure how helpful they'll be. View attachment 3956976View attachment 3956977View attachment 3956979View attachment 3956980View attachment 3956981

Thanks in advance for any insights!

Hi there,

I have a 5 year-old hen Baby (Buff Orpington/Barred Rock mix) who started stumbling/falling this morning (Oct 3rd) when she came out of the henhouse and into the run. She is at her normal weight again (she got quite thin a couple months ago when she was broody but she has regained the weight).

She is one of 9 hens, and no other hens are exhibiting the exact same symptoms. One other hen (CT) has gone through a significant molt, and lost a bit of weight perhaps (hard to tell if it's just the loss of feather bulk, she is a hard one to catch so I don't have a good sense of her weight). I cannot see any sign of injury, bumblefoot, cuts, or anything else on Baby. I soaked her in warm water, as she had a lot of poop on her vent/back feathers. Her poop looks relatively normal - brown, but mostly wet/runny. Now that I've cleaned her I'll be able to monitor better and see what her poop looks like going forward.

I have observed her eating (laying pellets) and drinking water today. She also nibbled on some oyster shells and has been out scratching in the run. She hopped out of the indoor run and into the outdoor run as normal, walking and scratching while stumbling. There was some moldy squash I found in the run today and threw out. There was also some zucchini, but that was fresh and did not look rotten at all.

I could not see any signs of mites or anything (though her vent area is quite bare due right now) - a couple other chickens are going through a molt so I didn't think anything of it but now I wonder if it's connected.

Her crop is full - I plan to check it tomorrow morning to make sure it fully emptied.

I added some nutri-drench to her water (poultry vitamin supplement).

I'd like to treat her myself since she is still eating and drinking.

I don't think she is egg bound - she is definitely not penguin-walking and I had a chicken that I think was egg-bound awhile back and this definitely seems different.

Indoor bedding is mostly pine shavings - outdoor run has dirt and wood chips.

I researched Marek's Disease and so far don't see any other symptoms within her except for the mobility difficulty.

I do have a video, but cannot upload it here. Here are some photos - but I'm not sure how helpful they'll be. View attachment 3956976View attachment 3956977View attachment 3956979View attachment 3956980View attachment 3956981

Thanks in advance for any insights!

As an update: I inspected her crop this morning (Oct 4th) and it definitely wasn't empty. It had a grainy feel to it, so perhaps it is impacted? I will try the coconut oil/massage method that @azygous previously posted. In the meantime if anyone else has any suggestions, especially now that I have a couple symptoms - please let me know!

 

[azygous]

Mold is poisonous. The symptoms are imbalance and trouble walking. Get some activated charcoal capsules from the vitamin aisle at the store and give her two. Stick them into her beak and she will swallow.

Do this twice more today, and continue three times tomorrow. This will neutralize the poison. Hopefully. But do it immediately. Don't wait a minute more to start.

All day today give her water with sugar mixed in, one teaspoon to one cup water to raise her glucose and keep her stable. If any other chickens start having the same symptoms, do the charcoal with them, as well.

 

[Lindenksh]

Mold is poisonous. The symptoms are imbalance and trouble walking. Get some activated charcoal capsules from the vitamin aisle at the store and give her two. Stick them into her beak and she will swallow.

Do this twice more today, and continue three times tomorrow. This will neutralize the poison. Hopefully. But do it immediately. Don't wait a minute more to start.

All day today give her water with sugar mixed in, one teaspoon to one cup water to raise her glucose and keep her stable. If any other chickens start having the same symptoms, do the charcoal with them, as well.

Thank you! I will do this ASAP.

Not sure if it is positive news with this new info, but her crop has definitely softened with coconut oil/massages.