3 chickens down

[JJSmith2]

I have three chickens, chicks from MMcM this spring, that have gone lame in one leg. They were in flocks and each just one day started standing on one leg and hopping on the other and then just sat and couldn’t move themselves. The first happened 1 month ago, rooster Ginger broiler, and has been isolated since but has not shown improvement. Happened to a second rooster, Delaware and in neighboring but separate pen, 1 week ago. He hopped around very good on one leg and then just sat down yesterday and can no longer move himself. Yesterday I also noticed a Ginger hen who seems to be lame in a leg now. I don’t know what is going on. Should I be worried about a virus? In the beginning I thought it was just a sprain which seems likely for roosters but now I don’t know. Any ideas appreciated.

 

[nuthatched]

Howdy
What do they eat? It could be vitamin deficiency. Have you checked for bumblefoot?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I don’t know what is going on. Should I be worried about a virus? In the beginning I thought it was just a sprain which seems likely for roosters but now I don’t know. Any ideas appreciated.

Welcome to BYC!

Sorry you're having issues.

There are many things that can present in this manner.. including nutrient deficiency, Marek's, and Newcastle. Were your chicks vaccinated against Marek's? What state are you in? Things like Marek's can travel very far on the air.. My state poultry vet at UC Davis in Ca.. states that Marek's is "ubiquitous" in poultry keeping environments and suggest vaccinating all chicks.

Have you checked any for any heat or swelling coming from the effected leg and the bottom of that foot.. also any scabs?

Are you able to consider culling the one that been effected longest and sending to your state poultry lab.. if so, then I can provide links to help facilitate that.

Hope they recover quickly and everyone else continues to thrive!

 

[JJSmith2]

Howdy
What do they eat? It could be vitamin deficiency. Have you checked for bumblefoot?

Have checked for bumble foot and there are no wounds or any signs that I can see. They were getting flock raiser until three or four weeks ago when I switched them to the egg lying type. They are supposed to be dual purpose so I thought that was the way to go.

 

[JJSmith2]

Welcome to BYC!

Sorry you're having issues.

There are many things that can present in this manner.. including nutrient deficiency, Marek's, and Newcastle. Were your chicks vaccinated against Marek's? What state are you in? Things like Marek's can travel very far on the air.. My state poultry vet at UC Davis in Ca.. states that Marek's is "ubiquitous" in poultry keeping environments and suggest vaccinating all chicks.

Have you checked any for any heat or swelling coming from the effected leg and the bottom of that foot.. also any scabs?

Are you able to consider culling the one that been effected longest and sending to your state poultry lab.. if so, then I can provide links to help facilitate that.

Hope they recover quickly and everyone else continues to thrive!

Hi.
I am in NW Indiana. No I don’t think they were vaccinated for Marek’s. I have checked for heat or swelling on all the birds and haven’t seen anything like that however I am most familiar with chicken bodies on my kitchen counter and not in the live form. But I feel the legs and compare them to the other leg and they seem to be the same temp and size. Also checked for scabs or oozing and found none. Have been giving them aspirin. And the first bird has been getting Poultry Cell from Rooster Booster.
The first bird has been down for a month and doesn’t show improvement except he tries to move around more just not using his legs. Also he seems to fuss when I move the “good” leg now but he has been laying on it for a month and I can understand it being sore.
I am afraid we will have to cull him which is a difficult decision because he is the first chicken I have had that was really, really neat and had a strong personality and actually interacted with us from a young age. We are just starting our small farm here and we couldn’t afford a vet visit. But he isn’t living his best life so . . . I’m at a loss.
We have had a few interactions with the neighbors 3 hens this summer. They are not good chicken keepers and we have chased raccoons out of their insufficient pen three times. I have occasionally taken them food and water too. Haven’t had to get in their pen, just walked around the outside.
Sorry this is so long. Been building up for a month

 

[EggSighted4Life]

They were getting flock raiser until three or four weeks ago

And the first bird has been getting Poultry Cell from Rooster Booster.

Doesn't sound like nutrient deficit unless you were also feeding excess treats.

I would probably stop with the aspirin.. Short term may be fine, long term is not a good choice. Marek's is not considered painful (if that's it), though I agree some stiffness is likely setting in after this long and it isn't what I personally consider high quality of life either. If he were to return to any sense of normalcy would likely require a fair amount of physical therapy. Some folks use a sling to help get the weight off, and allow a little stretching and/or pushing of the legs.. some examples from google..

Consider making contact and discussing with them what the prevalence or likelihood of possibilities they're seeing in your area is and how they suggest you proceed..

https://vet.purdue.edu/addl/contact.php

I am afraid we will have to cull him which is a difficult decision because he is the first chicken I have had that was really, really neat and had a strong personality and actually interacted with us from a young age. We are just starting our small farm here

Sorry you face this.

Hope the lab has more positive feedback!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The first happened 1 month ago, rooster Ginger broiler, and has been isolated since but has not shown improvement.

second rooster, Delaware and in neighboring but separate pen, 1 week ago. He hopped around very good on one leg and then just sat down yesterday and can no longer move himself.

The first bird has been down for a month and doesn’t show improvement except he tries to move around more just not using his legs. Also he seems to fuss when I move the “good” leg now but he has been laying on it for a month and I can understand it being sore.

Welcome To BYC

Do you have photos of them? A video of movements may also be helpful. For video, upload to YouTube and provide a link.

Exactly how old are they? All the same age?

Something that stands out to me about the first and third is "Ginger Broiler".
I've never had them, mind you, and going by MM's write up, they "heavy to medium growth with Essentially no leg problems".
So, I'm still thinking the leg issue(s) could still be due to the broilers being meat birds.

While, yes, most broilers/meat birds could be fed a moderate controlled diet, get exercise and live weeks/months past processing dates, they can start to have issues with mobility, heart problems, etc. the older they get.

Delawares are a dual purpose breed, but I have to wonder how heavy this cockerel is as well.

I'm sorry and not trying to be negative, but if the Ginger Broiler cockerel has been down for a month, then it may be best to let him go. Send the body to your state lab to get an analysis to find out the cause of his decline. Possible it's Marek's, but it would be good to know one way or the other. Marek's is not necessarily a death sentence for flocks, you will just need to manage symptoms or do like a lot of folks that have Marek's positive flocks, cull the ones that become symptomatic and build from there.

It's very understandable that this is distressing as well as heartbreaking. Cockerels can be especially friendly and engaging. I think that's why a lot of us have a special soft spot for our roosters.

 

[JJSmith2]

Welcome To BYC

Do you have photos of them? A video of movements may also be helpful. For video, upload to YouTube and provide a link.

Exactly how old are they? All the same age?

Something that stands out to me about the first and third is "Ginger Broiler".
I've never had them, mind you, and going by MM's write up, they "heavy to medium growth with Essentially no leg problems".
So, I'm still thinking the leg issue(s) could still be due to the broilers being meat birds.

While, yes, most broilers/meat birds could be fed a moderate controlled diet, get exercise and live weeks/months past processing dates, they can start to have issues with mobility, heart problems, etc. the older they get.

Delawares are a dual purpose breed, but I have to wonder how heavy this cockerel is as well.

I'm sorry and not trying to be negative, but if the Ginger Broiler cockerel has been down for a month, then it may be best to let him go. Send the body to your state lab to get an analysis to find out the cause of his decline. Possible it's Marek's, but it would be good to know one way or the other. Marek's is not necessarily a death sentence for flocks, you will just need to manage symptoms or do like a lot of folks that have Marek's positive flocks, cull the ones that become symptomatic and build from there.

It's very understandable that this is distressing as well as heartbreaking. Cockerels can be especially friendly and engaging. I think that's why a lot of us have a special soft spot for our roosters.

They are all the same age. We got them March 23. We ordered the Delawares with the intention of keeping a few to start a breeding flock and the rooster is a big beautiful guy. Haven’t weighed him but he has to be 7-9 lbs. The ginger broilers were a replacement for Cornish cross that we did not ask for but since we got them thought we would keep a few of them too especially as the rooster was friendly. Not as big as the Delaware rooster. I was starting to think the same thing about the gingers too that maybe this is leg problems like you get with broilers.

Doesn't sound like nutrient deficit unless you were also feeding excess treats.

I would probably stop with the aspirin.. Short term may be fine, long term is not a good choice. Marek's is not considered painful (if that's it), though I agree some stiffness is likely setting in after this long and it isn't what I personally consider high quality of life either. If he were to return to any sense of normalcy would likely require a fair amount of physical therapy. Some folks use a sling to help get the weight off, and allow a little stretching and/or pushing of the legs.. some examples from google..

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Consider making contact and discussing with them what the prevalence or likelihood of possibilities they're seeing in your area is and how they suggest you proceed..

https://vet.purdue.edu/addl/contact.php


Sorry you face this.

Hope the lab has more positive feedback!

Hi
I spoke with a vet at Purdue who felt this to be textbook Mareks and that it probably came from our older laying flock. He also said we could vaccinate our other birds. There is no study to show that this works but it would cause no harm. And of course get all new birds vaccinated. So now just need to decide if we should have them necropsied or not.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi
I spoke with a vet at Purdue who felt this to be textbook Mareks and that it probably came from our older laying flock. He also said we could vaccinate our other birds. There is no study to show that this works but it would cause no harm. And of course get all new birds vaccinated. So now just need to decide if we should have them necropsied or not.

This has been a good article to review..

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

Truly sorry the lab didn't have better news.