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Post by Josh on May 18, 2005 3:08:03 GMT -5
We had a hen that began not being able to stand up to her full height, And then she slowly kept losing her balance; stumbling like a drunk. She progressed to not being able to stand up at all, which progressed to her falling over, and to the point where the majority of time, she increased it being all the time, where she was on her back.
So now, she could not right herself at all nor keep herself near her water/ food. Her kicking would have her in different areas of her cage (which she lived in alone). She had an appeitite. she would drink when assisted. She just very slowly lost her ablity.
After attemps with two different antibotics, it was obvious, she wasn't getting better. Just this week, she was put down after suffering this way since March.
Now, another hen, has been repeating the same behaviour. She is at the stumbling drunk phase. This is a slow progression. It seems first, just unable to stand tall, and slowly, just "sinking." She had also exhibited that she kept stumbling to the left. There were times I also found her in a fact plant in her cage, and didn't seem to know that wasn't right.
Does anyone have any idea what this is? What I should do? We have a huge flock, some running lose, some in coops, and some in cages. These are the the only two as of yet, to display these symptoms.
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JamesC
Happy Chicken
Posts: 208
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Post by JamesC on May 18, 2005 12:48:24 GMT -5
Alex: It could be Mareks Disease. It is a neurological problem that comes in several forms. It usually hits birds at about 18-20 weeks, just about when they are ready to begin laying but it can hit at any age. Were your birds vaccinated for Mareks at the hatchery? Even if they were you could still get a few that come down with the disease but at least you could be confident that most would not. The disease itself doesn't kill the bird, it usually starves to death because it can't get to the feed and water once it loses the use of its legs. Some will recover and survive but they will be carriers. There are other diseases and conditions that cause paralysis and loss of co-ordination however.
If you have an animal Pathology lab close you should take the second hen to them for analysis. That is the only way to determine what is really wrong and it usually is not expensive. If you don't know where a lab is located, contact your Extension Agents. They will know. Good Luck, James
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