1 yr old Rooster Favoring One Foot?

[EurekaPaprika]

My rooster, Buddy, has been unable to put weight on his left foot for about a week. I don't see any signs of injury at all! Please help me figure out what's wrong and how I can help him out. Here's the facts:

• No known trauma of any sort that could be a cause
• Still eats and drinks
• Had a blackish comb for one day but it's now a healthy red again
• Attempts to roost but won't go up as high as his usual place
• Our hens have been dealing with Avian Flu, but I haven't seen any signs from him. I also had a few hens die of suspected Mareks. It's been a bad year!
• Foot and leg don't appear to be swollen or cut
• Most mobility is still there in his leg and toes, but if I press the pad of his foot and move his leg close to his body he does not curl his toes or have any reflex at all. (When I do this with his right foot his toes curl up to grip my hand)
• He attempts to use it to walk but doesn't put any true weight on it. He is still capable of putting his leg up and down, but stops right above the ground or rests his foot gently for balance
• Doesn't appear to be irritated or in pain by me playing with his foot

 

[Eggcessive]

How do you know you have avian flu? That would cause widespread death. Are you sure you are not seeing a milder virus or mycoplasma infection going around your flock? What symptoms have you seen so far?

Can you check his foot pad for a bumblefoot scab, and feel of his entire leg for swelling of the joints or bruising on the skin? Injuries or sprains can be common. Mareks can cause weakness in a leg, and if you have been dealing with that, I would suspect that he might be showing signs. How old is he? It helps to get a confirmation with a necropsy to look for Mareks, so if you lose him or any others, I would contact the state vet for a necropsy.

I would give him a few days of rest in a pen or dog crate with food, water, and vitamins in his water. How high are your roosts?

 

[EurekaPaprika]

Sorry, I meant Avian Pox, not flu. They've had the scabs on their combs and wattles, and one hen has the wet pox in her mouth and eye.

I'll check his leg for bruises, but I didn't see any signs of bumblefoot. He's 1 year old.

 

[teira]

How high is your perch? He could have flew down and landed on his foot wonky. My buff rock hen did the same thing, since shes a larger bird she hit the ground pretty hard and sprained her foot. Do you have some place you can confine him? I would definitely separate him from the rest of the flock if you've dealt with marek's before, but also so he can rest his foot. I heard you can crush up vitamin B complex tablets and put it in his feed or something extra tasty like plain yogurt or some egg yolk for a sprain. I hope you can resolve everything, and I wish you and him luck and a smooth recovery!

 

[Rick M]

How high is your perch? He could have flew down and landed on his foot wonky. My buff rock hen did the same thing, since shes a larger bird she hit the ground pretty hard and sprained her foot. Do you have some place you can confine him? I would definitely separate him from the rest of the flock if you've dealt with marek's before, but also so he can rest his foot. I heard you can crush up vitamin B complex tablets and put it in his feed or something extra tasty like plain yogurt or some egg yolk for a sprain. I hope you can resolve everything, and I wish you and him luck and a smooth recovery!

One of my barred rock hens just did same thing, I had my roosts around 4.5-5' and she got bumped off roost and hit the nesting boxes bar at bedtime. She has been limping slightly for two days now but it's getting much better. I've since lowered my roosts and moved in my nesting boxes bar.

 

[mew317]

Meh. Might have a small case of i’m Too lazy to walk on both feet.

 

[EurekaPaprika]

He usually roosts on the one thats only about 2 feet off the ground, but I do have roosts as high as 6 feet. Since he's been trying to walk on it and unable, I don't think it's because he's lazy.

Right now I have the hen with wet pox in my quarantine, so I'm not going to be able to separate Buddy until she makes some sort of change for better or worse.

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings EurekaPaprika,

Sounds like he has a bad sprain. This has happened to a couple of my roosters. Assuming your rooster does not have Marek's or some other neurologilcal issue, the leg will heal, but you can speed things up by treating the leg.

My treatment:

• First apply some 'Arnica cream' to the leg, massage gently.
• Apply a compression wrap.

1. Wrap the leg in a soft fabric (you can cut a piece of old soft sock or use
gauze)
2. Wrap with self stick vet wrap (take care not to wrap tightly, you don't want
to restrict blood flow). The wrap should be snug, but not tight. The chicken
should be able to bend the leg and sit.

• Administer a vitamin supplement for three to five days.

The Arnica cream will reduce pain, and speed healing of the injured tissue. The compression wrap will support and protect the leg tendons and muscle during healing. A vitamin supplement, like Nutri Drench or Pet-Tinic, will boost the immune system.

Check the leg daily, is the rooster walking on the injured leg? Look at the color, is it blue? If it is blue, the vet wrap is constricting blood flow, the wrap is too tight. Remove the wrap. Change the wrap every other day. Once the rooster is not limping, the wrap is no longer needed.

My roosters, usually stop limping after 3 days.

A severe sprain can take about two weeks, longer without treatment.

You should consider lowering the perches, however, my roosters have sprained their legs, jumping off a fountain, and another off an outdoor perch. They just landed wrong, and sprained the leg.


These are my thoughts on your rooster's issue. I hope I have been helpful.

God Bless

 

[EurekaPaprika]

Greetings EurekaPaprika,

Sounds like he has a bad sprain. This has happened to a couple of my roosters. Assuming your rooster does not have Marek's or some other neurologilcal issue, the leg will heal, but you can speed things up by treating the leg.

My treatment:

• First apply some 'Arnica cream' to the leg, massage gently.
• Apply a compression wrap.

1. Wrap the leg in a soft fabric (you can cut a piece of old soft sock or use
gauze)
2. Wrap with self stick vet wrap (take care not to wrap tightly, you don't want
to restrict blood flow). The wrap should be snug, but not tight. The chicken
should be able to bend the leg and sit.

• Administer a vitamin supplement for three to five days.

The Arnica cream will reduce pain, and speed healing of the injured tissue. The compression wrap will support and protect the leg tendons and muscle during healing. A vitamin supplement, like Nutri Drench or Pet-Tinic, will boost the immune system.

Check the leg daily, is the rooster walking on the injured leg? Look at the color, is it blue? If it is blue, the vet wrap is constricting blood flow, the wrap is too tight. Remove the wrap. Change the wrap every other day. Once the rooster is not limping, the wrap is no longer needed.

My roosters, usually stop limping after 3 days.

A severe sprain can take about two weeks, longer without treatment.

You should consider lowering the perches, however, my roosters have sprained their legs, but jumping off a fountain, and another off an out door perch. They just landed wrong, and sprained the leg.


These are my thoughts on your rooster's issue. I hope I have been helpful.

God Bless

How low and high up the leg should I wrap? From foot to thigh?

 

[Chickassan]

Does Buddy have feathered feet?