we have a young silky hen that basicly falls over. She seems to walk fine otherwise but she falls on her side and has a very hard time getting up. She does have scaly leg mites and seems a bit lethargic but i dont see any other symtoms. she also eats and drinks fine doesn't have diarrhea. please help:(
(fuzzychicken)
sick chicken!!! :(
Bumping up
sorry i can't help, but i bet Harmony or CMoxon can
That sounds like those weird inner ear imbalances you hear about...sinus infection gone bad..Did you check the reference thread under diagnosis by symptom?
http://www.msstate.edu/dept/poultry/diagext.htm
Could be early signs of mereks if shes young. You also need to remove the scaly leg it can deform and cripple a chicken.
Scaly leg is a condition where mites bury under the scales of a chickens leg. The mites eat and poop and thats whats under the scales it can get so bad as the chicken loses all it's leg scales.
Mites must be killed by smothering them first you must take a soft toothbrush and remove as much of the mite crap as you can. (Brush gently so you won't injure the leg)
Then coat the legs in kerosene or anything that will suffocate the mites i use sulfodene the stuff you put on dog hot spots. Apply this at least twice a day until the condition improves.
The scales on their legs if very damaged will never be normal again.
Do chickens get ear mites?
Exo parasite infections can get bad enough to cause anemia, too.
I don't know never really thought about it?? I do know they can get regular mites so bad till they get on their heads and around their eyes.
Thats why everyone needs to check vents now and then to stop them before they get that bad.
This sounds crazy but we put vasoline on the chickens legs when they got mites. I got them too just recently and the Dr. told me to get this really expensive RX treatment that was a pain in the rear. I told him I would try vasoline first and call him back in a week if it didn't get better. The vasoline worked on me too.
They probably suffocate...I think I've heard similar stories, but it's great to know!
get rid of the mites first sounds like she has enimia from a bad infestation. the parisites r probably takeing out to much from her and her body can't keep up. vasceline, cooking spray, baby oil ect will all work but if it is real bad get a blue bottle of adams flea and tick spray it works instantly to kill them. spray vent, under wings and back 2 sprays each, that will kill whats on her and protect for up to 3mths.
hope that helps,
silkie
thanks, i'll try that
Heres the thing with this chicken. (my neice fuzzy chicken did the last few posts) She has been "wierd" since we got here from the hatchery. Always has had balance issues. Her mites are not to bad... Her legs seem fine. The anemia thing is something to think about though. Its her balance. No other symptoms. She is such a sweatheart and does not seem to be suffering. She just will fall over very easy and has a hard time getting back up on her feet. I thought maybe I had read somewhere about a brain tumor issue??
i think the anemia could be an issue because she is so small, and another symtom i've noticed is that she sneezes every once and awhile.
(fuzzychicken)
If all the other health questions get resolved OK, then she may just have inner ear damage from trauma and she'll just be a tippy bird for the rest of her life. =0)
I got a horse once that had somehow managed to whack its head and walked wierd for about 6 months. She gradually straightened out.