Pullet with serious leg injury, help?

Queensilkie

Songster
5 Years
Jan 22, 2016
135
256
166
WA
Just a bit ago, I found my serama pullet hiding behind some pallets, limping severely and not putting any weight on her left leg, which she is holding stretched out in front of her (think splayed legs), to the extreme. She looked very weak, and kept her eyes closed, breathing heavily. I've always thought she was somewhat deformed, as her legs are ridiculously short, and strangely closer to the front of her body, and she's always been a hard bird to hold, because she sticks her legs out all weird, and seems to have a hard time finding her balance while perching.
However, she's always functioned well, even if she usually hides in corners and keeps away from the bigger birds. Which is why i wasn't too concerned i hadn't seen much of her in the past day or so. If she did just seriously injure herself, it can't be more than two days ago, because I saw her perching and walking normally on Monday.
I brought her inside, am giving her food and water (I think she was extremely dehydrated, don't think she's been walking to the feeder or waterer), and gave her a fourth of a low-dose aspirin.
I'll try to put up a picture in a minute, if that helps?
Just wondering what I should do for her now, and what the injury might be.
(Her leg seems functional, and she is moving her toes, she's just holding it very limply and stumbles when she attempts to walk on it.)
Is it possible it's a problem with her hip, from birth, (like a deformity), and it's just worsened?
Thank you to anyone who can help.
 
Unfortunately, lameness can be caused by any number of things, most of them impossible to pin down. In fact, I have an old hen right now that has been lame in one leg for the past few years, and I still have no idea what's causing it. If the chicken is an adult bantam, a half a baby aspirin twice a day can be safely given.
 
Unfortunately, lameness can be caused by any number of things, most of them impossible to pin down. In fact, I have an old hen right now that has been lame in one leg for the past few years, and I still have no idea what's causing it. If the chicken is an adult bantam, a half a baby aspirin twice a day can be safely given.
Yes, thank you. At the moment I'm almost afraid it might be an onset of Mareks',just because her pupils are super dilated and she doesn't seem to be reacting to light, even when briefly flashed over her eye, and that's something I've seen with some of my previous Mareks' 'patients'.
She's eating and drinking, but overall is acting pretty sickly and weak.
 
I did notice she had some Marek's symptoms. It can manifest differently in different chickens. The ocular symptoms are very characteristic, though, of Marek's.

I have an avian leucosis in my flock, and it has many similar symptoms of Marek's, and some chickens never get sick from it as evidenced by some chickens in my flock having passed the ten year mark and are still going strong. Others, from embryos in incubating eggs up to older chickens, including the hen I mentioned with the lame leg, show varied symptoms.

I take a little comfort in knowing what to suspect when one of my flock gets sick. But I still consider it tragic to have this thing cursing my flock, as I'm sure you do, too. Just know you're not alone.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom