26wk old Cuckoo Maren not walking

[ame589]

Two days ago when I let my girls out to run around the yard I noticed one of my cuckoo marens was kind of scooting about. She did not stand up fully but kind of scooted about on her lower legs. I immediately picked her up and checked her out. Her legs looked and felt fine and so did the rest of her. Her comb and wattles are bright red and she chirps and squawks like normal. We isolated her and put vitamins and electrolytes in her water. Yesterday her poo was bright green. Today her poo looks normal (firm and brownish). She is still laying eggs and does not seemed stressed at all. I took her out of her pen today and set her on the grass and she is still scooting about. She is not standing fully. Her wings are strong and her coloring is still good. Not sure what is happening with her. None of the other chickens are showing any of the same signs.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ame589]

Here is a pic of her.

 

[luggsbuggs]

I am kind of in the same boat, mine was born with issues from temps, Have you tried to flex her feet? Can she grasp your fingers with her toes? Can you tell if she feels the sensations? If not possiablity paralized could have been an injury in the coop, or if she does feel and can move her feet poss deteration of her muscles? I reccoment a vet, or it could be a tendon issue. Good luck. I am just learning about chickens, I have special needs ducks however I just got a deformed chicken. I love it dearly and she is super tiny! Her one leg sticks straight out and I am working with her on bending it to build the muscle.
!

 

[ame589]

Yes, I have tried to flex her feet and she does fine. She grips my fingers and she responds when I rub her feet. I did notice that sometimes when she scoots she curls her toes under. Thanks for responding and good luck with your chicken!

 

[Uniontown Poultry]

I recommend a vet as well, but that's not always possible or economically feasible. You'll want to make sure you examine her carefully - check her feet, esp the bottoms, turn her on her back and fold her lower leg up to her body, feeling the hock joint while you do this. You're feeling for grinding or popping or anything unusual. Feel if the muscles are withered or otherwise abnormal. If her toes automatically curl when you bend the leg up towards the body, it is possible there is a slipping tendon.

I don't know of any leg ailment offhand that might cause a weakness, but I read about something that might help in a chicken book (I think it was Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance, but I am not sure). The author had a chicken that went inexplicably lame, I think in a similar fashion, and he constructed a sling/hammock for her, so that she could be off her feet if need be (the hammock let her feet touch ground, but was high enough that she could hang limp with it supporting her weight if she chose. Her food and water were handy, and there was a "poop hole" cut into the fabric for, well, poop. I have used the hammock/sling system for smaller birds & chicks with great success (in smaller birds, it is more like a "chick chair" that you make with a container or box to hold the sling in), and if you go that way, I recommend: 1) some high-protein treats to boost the muscles, like low-fat cottage cheese or scrambled eggs; 2) pin a piece of fabric across your chicken's back while she's in the chair/hammock, so she can't struggle out of it - she probably wouldn't be able to pull her legs out & thus would be stuck hanging upside-down; 3) put food and water where she can reach it in the chair/hammock; 4) Take her out of the sling a few times a day and massage her legs, let her get some exercise & try to use those muscles, so her legs just don't fall asleep in the chair/hammock all day, and 5) make sure she is warm. When my chickies are sick or injured, warmth is not only soothing but it also lets their body burn its precious calories on healing rather than heating. Somewhere around here is a thread on spraddle leg that talks about chick chairs. I think I just looked up chick chair in a search engine - on a bigger bird I guess it would be more like a hammock in a rubbermaid, but the concept is the same. Hope this helps!

 

[Uniontown Poultry]

Quote:
I just got done rehabbing my sister's naked neck chick for the same thing. She had let him hop about on one leg for almost a week, with his other one stuck straight out on the side, putting no weight on it. I put that poor little guy in traction practically, with hobbles, chick shoes AND a chick chair, but he came out ok in the end. His stance is wide but he walks with both legs & will only get better at this as he gets bigger & heavier. You may want to check out threads for spraddle leg to see some photos and remedies. Sometimes all you need is a Band-Aid - literally!! Good luck to you!

 

[ReikiStar]

I know it would be a hike for you, but if you don't have any chicken savvy vets by you, you might want to give Dr. Bruce a call, he's in Bellevue. Even my Avian/Exotic vet friend defers chicken issues to him.

http://bellevuecrossroadsvet.com/about/dr-bruce/

If she's still laying eggs, is holding her weight and can grip your fingers, you might be able to rule out Mareks. But I would want someone who knows chickens to check her out, anything else would be wasting money.