21 Apr
Great news! Maisie the hen is doing well! Her owner had this to say:
“Thanks again for your help w/ Maisy. She’s doing much better now that she’s got calcium in her. She’s back in with the other hens (has been for a week+ now), and we’re getting 3-4 eggs daily out of the four of them (we waited patiently until she finally gave us one in her private cage before getting her back in w/ the others).”
What great news!
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Posted by Alchemia on April 23, 2010 at 12:59 pm
Our Female Chicken has stopped laying eggs; We had blood tests/pane done by our vet and results shows nutrition is good, no viruses or bacteriological infections . . .. . . . . Yet, some days she simply cannot walk; and other days she is fine! Her sister had similar symptoms and died recently. Any Ideas what is going on? We are stumped!
Posted by chickenwoman on April 23, 2010 at 2:17 pm
Hi,
I’m sorry to hear of your bad luck.
My guess – without seeing anything – is a tumor or enlarged kidneys. In other avian species, tumors or enlarged kidneys can put pressure on the nerves controlling the legs, causing lameness. Did your vet run a test to check organ functionality?
Another possibility is cage fatigue. Lameness and no eggs are both symptoms. What is their caging like? That would explain both being affected.
Do her legs look different? Lameness can indicate streptococcal poisoning, Marek’s disease, and a number of other things.
What are her other symptoms? Did you necropsy her sister to determine cause of death? This could be contagious – or genetic.
If you can provide more info about caging, environment, symptoms, etc., that would be helpful. With birds, ANYTHING out of the ordinary in terms of behavior is important, too.
Is your vet a “country doctor” or avian certified? I’d suggest an avian certified vet; bird and mammals are very different, and a dog and cat vet may not be able to accurately diagnose.
Best,
Jen