Silkie chicken loss of legs?

[LisaLovesSilkies]

Hello chicken friends! I have a 5 month old silkie hen that is currently in my chicken hospital (house) that can no longer walk. Background - all my silkies are free range, hatched and raised here, not vaccinated or from a hatchery. My silkie was hatched from one of our Broodies in august. She is the smallest but hangs out with the roosters and is the most motivated scavenger. 2 weeks ago I noticed she had a few weird episodes of ‘freak outs’ where it seemed like she rolled or jumped without cause. Then walked on. I immediately thought neurological but everything became fine again. Today she was out in the run as normal but when I delivered snacks to the coop this evening she waddled over to me like a seal.. her feet were out to the sides like they were broken. I took her inside to chicken hospital and fed her, she’s been eating non stop. She can’t really stand and her feet are sprawled to the sides or sometimes forward. She is extra fluffy. Her first poop was okay and next was diarhea and smelly. She hasn’t really been interested in water, just food, and attitude is still super sweet. I’m a newish chicken owner (2 years) and am wondering what this could be.. mareks? All of our chickens are hatched in our yard, so I’m not sure how that could be? I have some first aid stuff like tylosin, amoxicillin, ivermectin, etc but not sure what this is or what to give her. I’ve been feeding her eggs, seeds, vitamins. Which is a near daily routine anyways for the flock .. there are no mites, she hasn’t been mated, she molted a bit on her head last month, and her environment is pleasant. She hasn’t laid eggs yet that I know of. Her feet and fur are pristine, no signs of injury.. please help!

 

[Tonyroo]

Did you physically check her leg to see if there were a loss of muscle tissue or fracture?

Chickens that exhibit loss of body coordination have usually been exposed to mold or have ingested it.

Sometimes diverting from there normal feed can hinder there health in long run. It also important to inspect the food regularly to make sure nothing is growing in it.

And it can also be genetic flaw that renders the development of a chicken.

Knowing how your managing your chickens welfare, disease may be an issue but unlikely. Diseases generally ravage more than one chicken at a time.

 

[nuthatched]

I’ve been feeding her eggs, seeds, vitamins. Which is a near daily routine anyways for the flock

How much of this does she get, what vitamins and how much? Silkies are prone to vitamin deficiency, and it sounds like it could be at least part of the issue.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

5 month old silkie

that can no longer walk.

2 weeks ago I noticed she had a few weird episodes of ‘freak outs’ where it seemed like she rolled or jumped without cause.

when I delivered snacks to the coop this evening she waddled over to me like a seal.. her feet were out to the sides like they were broken. I took her inside to chicken hospital and fed her, she’s been eating non stop. She can’t really stand and her feet are sprawled to the sides or sometimes forward.

She hasn’t really been interested in water, just food

I’ve been feeding her eggs, seeds, vitamins. Which is a near daily routine anyways for the flock .. there are no mites, she hasn’t been mated,

She is the smallest but hangs out with the roosters and is the most motivated scavenger.

Welcome To BYC

Can you please post photos of her and her poop?

You brought her in and gave her food - she's been eating non-stop.
What do you normally feed? Seeds, eggs and vitamins? Do you feed a nutritionally balanced poultry feed at all? Chick Starter?

She hangs out with roosters but has not been mated...how old are these roosters?

I'd re-check for injury. Start feeding her Chick Starter or an All Flock feed that is 18-20% protein. Cut out the seeds. Eggs as a treat are great.
Start her on Vitamin E (400IU) and 1/4 tablet of B-Complex daily - the treat of egg daily will also help with the uptake of E.

Silkies seem to be more prone to neurological issues so hopefully the vitamins and nutrition will be helpful.
Marek's disease is a possibility with the symptoms you describe, unfortunately, there's no real treatment except for vitamin therapy and the only way to really know if her condition is due to Marek's is to have necropsy if you lose her.

 

[Debbie292d]

I’ve been feeding her eggs, seeds, vitamins. Which is a near daily routine anyways for the flock

Please tell me she's on chick starter crumbles or at least layer feed. If by seeds you mean sunflower seeds, a few each day are fine, especially for silkies as they're high in Vit. E and Selenium, but I worry you mean wild birdseed.

If she hasn't been on chick starter, then this might be vitamin deficiency, which it still could be anyway as silkies are prone to being vitamin deficient. I agree with everything @Wyorp Rock said and I too believe it's possible Marek's due to what you describe. I sure hope not though! Please follow the advice given and see if that helps.

 

[LisaLovesSilkies]

Did you physically check her leg to see if there were a loss of muscle tissue or fracture?

Chickens that exhibit loss of body coordination have usually been exposed to mold or have ingested it.

Sometimes diverting from there normal feed can hinder there health in long run. It also important to inspect the food regularly to make sure nothing is growing in it.

And it can also be genetic flaw that renders the development of a chicken.

Knowing how your managing your chickens welfare, disease may be an issue but unlikely. Diseases generally ravage more than one chicken at a time.

I have checked the legs, but I’m not sure what to look for? They seem the same as a few days ago when she was adventuring around. She has no heights to fall from. I clean the coop every 10 days but you mentioning mold, I’m going to do a deep clean today and scrap out a layer of soil and check the feeders too! (I always clean the waterers) and I will watch the rest of the flock closer today. Thank you so much for your reply

 

[LisaLovesSilkies]

Please tell me she's on chick starter crumbles or at least layer feed. If by seeds you mean sunflower seeds, a few each day are fine, especially for silkies as they're high in Vit. E and Selenium, but I worry you mean wild birdseed.

If she hasn't been on chick starter, then this might be vitamin deficiency, which it still could be anyway as silkies are prone to being vitamin deficient. I agree with everything @Wyorp Rock said and I too believe it's possible Marek's due to what you describe. I sure hope not though! Please follow the advice given and see if that helps.

Hi! She is on layer pellets but since you mentioned grower crumbles I just gave her that now. Seeds are sunflower and pumpkin, I make my own mixes. I’ve been adding poultry drench to their water this winter but your right I should add more maybe vitamins, rooster booster in their feed too. Thank you so much for your post, everything helps

 

[LisaLovesSilkies]

How much of this does she get, what vitamins and how much? Silkies are prone to vitamin deficiency, and it sounds like it could be at least part of the issue.

I use poultry drench in the flocks water every day, but I’m going to add rooster booster to the feed again to increase this!

 

[LisaLovesSilkies]

Welcome To BYC

Can you please post photos of her and her poop?

You brought her in and gave her food - she's been eating non-stop.
What do you normally feed? Seeds, eggs and vitamins? Do you feed a nutritionally balanced poultry feed at all? Chick Starter?

She hangs out with roosters but has not been mated...how old are these roosters?

I'd re-check for injury. Start feeding her Chick Starter or an All Flock feed that is 18-20% protein. Cut out the seeds. Eggs as a treat are great.
Start her on Vitamin E (400IU) and 1/4 tablet of B-Complex daily - the treat of egg daily will also help with the uptake of E.

Silkies seem to be more prone to neurological issues so hopefully the vitamins and nutrition will be helpful.
Marek's disease is a possibility with the symptoms you describe, unfortunately, there's no real treatment except for vitamin therapy and the only way to really know if her condition is due to Marek's is to have necropsy if you lose her.

Hello! Thank you for your reply, I need all the education I can get. She eats layer pellets and every other day I throw them sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, some scratch and those dried worms they sell for poultry. I also share my tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, blueberries, carrots every few days. I use poultry drench for vitamins in their water over the winter. I just switched her to some starter crumbles this morning since you’ve said that.
The roosters are about 2 years old, they mate the other ladies, but haven’t mated her or her sister yet, maybe too young for them? I’m sure that will change next month when spring comes near..
I have my whole flock on layer pellets, is this generally wrong? I’m never sure what to ask for at the feed store. And they all eat together..
I’ve given her some vitamin e selenium gel now, I’m going to look for vitamin b. Thank you! I will attach a file of her trying to stand and her poop this morning. It looks like it won’t let me attach video but I’m going to keep trying

 

[LisaLovesSilkies]

Hello! Thank you for your reply, I need all the education I can get. She eats layer pellets and every other day I throw them sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, some scratch and those dried worms they sell for poultry. I also share my tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, blueberries, carrots every few days. I use poultry drench for vitamins in their water over the winter. I just switched her to some starter crumbles this morning since you’ve said that.
The roosters are about 2 years old, they mate the other ladies, but haven’t mated her or her sister yet, maybe too young for them? I’m sure that will change next month when spring comes near..
I have my whole flock on layer pellets, is this generally wrong? I’m never sure what to ask for at the feed store. And they all eat together..
I’ve given her some vitamin e selenium gel now, I’m going to look for vitamin b. Thank you! I will attach a file of her trying to stand and her poop this morning. It looks like it won’t let me attach video but I’m going to keep trying