Hen falling over! Lethargic and can’t keep balance

[izzyrose]

Hi, please comment if you have an idea of what could be wrong!

Just this morning I noticed my hen struggling to walk. She is falling over and loosing her balance. I examined her feet which both look healthy and she didn’t seem to have any foot or leg pain as I touched her.
- 2y6m hen
- lives in enclosed run with free range time daily
- she is currently molting
- eats layer feed
- upon examining her crop does feel slightly hard and not empty in the morning

I fed her a scrambled egg with Nutridrench solution. Her appetite is good.

Could this be a vitamin deficiency?

Should I separate her?

Thank you so much for the help!!

 

[izzyrose]

I also got her from a farm store that vaccinates for Mareks

 

[izzyrose]

I see what looks like it could be a foot injury in this picture, but I do not think that would cause the falling over to this degree.

 

[Chicken_Labyrinth_Seer]

If her crop was not empty in the morning she may not be actually digesting any food she is eating. I would bring her inside where you can closely watch to see if she is pooping normal. Continue to offer feed and make sure she is eating. Does she have a flock? Any bullying? Has she been hiding from others? Balance problems can be a vitamin deficiency which is also why I wonder if she is digesting. Do your birds have grit available?

 

[izzyrose]

If her crop was not empty in the morning she may not be actually digesting any food she is eating. I would bring her inside where you can closely watch to see if she is pooping normal. Continue to offer feed and make sure she is eating. Does she have a flock? Any bullying? Has she been hiding from others? Balance problems can be a vitamin deficiency which is also why I wonder if she is digesting. Do your birds have grit available?

Thank you for the response. She has been having poop on the runny/ watery side. She’s in a small flock of 5, no bullying. She’s actually one of the top hens. I do have grit and crushed eggshells available

 

[coach723]

Sometimes birds in molt do not eat well, and that can lead to deficiencies. I've had birds in molt walk like they're drunk, be very wobbly and unbalanced. I always start dosing them with a b complex or super b complex tablet or capsule once a day when I see that. They often recover fairly quickly. The b's are very safe, extra will be excreted, so no worries. Molt and how miserable it makes them can vary a lot, year to year, and bird to bird. Sometimes you can barely tell it's going on with some of them, and others may act completely miserable. So I would definitely try the vitamins, and if she'll eat a scrambled egg, do that as well. I do that with the ones that are having a hard time, they like it, it gets them eating, and has needed protein.
The bottom of the foot looks like early bumblefoot. If she's limping, then treat now, if not it can wait til she's feeling better since you will need to handle her. I would treat that topically and see if it clears up (it can be slow). Just clean it up well, apply some triple antibiotic ointment, and wrap it to keep it clean. Redo every couple of days. That may be all that's needed to clear it up as it's pretty small. If it gets worse, larger, swells, or she starts limping or favoring it, then more treatment would be indicated. Make sure you don't wrap too tight, just enough to keep it on (vet wrap or co wrap works well), you don't want to cut of circulation.

 

[izzyrose]

Sometimes birds in molt do not eat well, and that can lead to deficiencies. I've had birds in molt walk like they're drunk, be very wobbly and unbalanced. I always start dosing them with a b complex or super b complex tablet or capsule once a day when I see that. They often recover fairly quickly. The b's are very safe, extra will be excreted, so no worries. Molt and how miserable it makes them can vary a lot, year to year, and bird to bird. Sometimes you can barely tell it's going on with some of them, and others may act completely miserable. So I would definitely try the vitamins, and if she'll eat a scrambled egg, do that as well. I do that with the ones that are having a hard time, they like it, it gets them eating, and has needed protein.
The bottom of the foot looks like early bumblefoot. If she's limping, then treat now, if not it can wait til she's feeling better since you will need to handle her. I would treat that topically and see if it clears up (it can be slow). Just clean it up well, apply some triple antibiotic ointment, and wrap it to keep it clean. Redo every couple of days. That may be all that's needed to clear it up as it's pretty small. If it gets worse, larger, swells, or she starts limping or favoring it, then more treatment would be indicated. Make sure you don't wrap too tight, just enough to keep it on (vet wrap or co wrap works well), you don't want to cut of circulation.

Thank you SO MUCH for the advice. I will give her a B supplement (rooster booster B12) and treat the bumblefoot topically for now. If she improves I’ll do a full bumblefoot procedure to remove it

 

[coach723]

B 12 is good, but you need to use something that has riboflavin and thiamine in it as well. Those are very common deficiencies that can cause weird neuromuscular symptoms. Rooster Booster Poultry Cell has them all, vs the B12 supplement which has only B12 and K. I just find it easier to get, and use, a human tablet or capsule, give it and done.

 

[izzyrose]

B 12 is good, but you need to use something that has riboflavin and thiamine in it as well. Those are very common deficiencies that can cause weird neuromuscular symptoms. Rooster Booster Poultry Cell has them all, vs the B12 supplement which has only B12 and K. I just find it easier to get, and use, a human tablet or capsule, give it and done.

Will do, thank you! Do you give them a whole human dose?

 

[Eggcessive]

Will do, thank you! Do you give them a whole human dose?

You can give 1/2 tablet daily of the B complex or super B complex. You can get some of the Spring Valley brand at Walmart under $9.