6-Week-old Chick- One Leg not working?

[Zenzilicious]

Hello!

I have a 6-week-old Slikie/??? chick. She came with 2 other sisters from another local backyard chicken owner. Her & her one sister have always been pretty active. I notice she has been sitting more & even getting trampled by her sisters. Her leg looks broken or something??? This must have been recent... I'm not sure what could have happened. Weirdly, she moves fine and moves very quickly still when she wants to, despite only using the one leg.

Is her leg broken? I included a picture of her, you can see her one leg up front & the other behind her.

Thank you!

 

[rural mouse]

I know of several young birds with leg/foot problems. So far, it seems to be remedied with vitamin B2 and possibly some physical therapy.

 

[Zenzilicious]

I know of several young birds with leg/foot problems. So far, it seems to be remedied with vitamin B2 and possibly some physical therapy.

Thanks so much! Just ordered and will be here tomorrow. I read online to seperate her too, I'm going to do that too

 

[Zenzilicious]

Update: I have been using the b-12 in the water since June 30th. It seemed like she was getting better (I named her flamingo). I was picking her up and giving her water. Then she seemed to be getting a bit stronger and using the other leg. I put her back in with her sisters & the other chicks and she was eating & drink (with some minor limp). Today I found her on her back, and the other chicks were walking over her. I helped flip her up, and it seems like her leg is back to where it was! I isolated her again by herself. Do you think this is still B-12 related? I did see some info online about Marek's and how it can paralyze one side of her body, but both her wings work and she doesn't have any Gray in her eyes.

Would appreciate any insight.
Thanks again!

 

[gtaus]

Would appreciate any insight.

While reading your post, the first thought that came to mind was that the chick seemed to be improving, but I was thinking you might have been too soon in bringing her back with the others. If she was improving, but still limping, I suspect she needed more recovery time separate from the others.

If you don't think the leg is broken, and it appears that the B-12 is helping, I would put her in a separate cage and continue that treatment but this time hold her until her limping symptoms have disappeared. As much as we may like our chickens, I honestly don't think our chickens like each other the same way. Chickens can be very cruel to a sick or injured bird in the flock. Often times, a few days in isolation are all that are needed for a chicken to recover. Sometimes longer.

I hope you keep us posted on the progress of your chick. She sure is cute and deserves the extra care you may need to give at this time. A little TLC can go a long way towards recovery.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Do you think this is still B-12 related? I did see some info online about Marek's and how it can paralyze one side of her body, but both her wings work and she doesn't have any Gray in her eyes.

Marek's is highly possible and only the ocular form will show in the eye color.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

Vitamin E and selenium might be helpful. Flipping on the back is more like stargazing to me.. even though you aren't seeing wry neck so far.

I notice that first poster suggested B2 which is riboflavin and your using B12 which is cobalamin. All the B's support immune system function and generally cannot be overdosed.. a B complex might be a better a choice.

What are you feeding including treats and supplements before this presented?

I got a marek's diagnosis from necropsy via UC Davis lab.. wings were working or at least able to flap. There are some live tests that can be done to confirm or rule out Marek's..
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/mareks-testing-in-living-birds.1206105/

Regarding separation.. I would try to do so in sight of the siblings where they can still interact some but she won't be trampled.

Plenty of birds do survive Marek's, including those who are vaccinated and have caught it but don't experience the symptoms and yet proliferate the virus.

Were the chicks incubator or broody hatched?

A broken leg would surely be expressing some swelling, redness, or heat, and limited range of motion without a pain response. Have you inspected for injury?

Hopeful for a full and speedy recovery!

 

[Zenzilicious]

Marek's is highly possible and only the ocular form will show in the eye color.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

Vitamin E and selenium might be helpful. Flipping on the back is more like stargazing to me.. even though you aren't seeing wry neck so far.

I notice that first poster suggested B2 which is riboflavin and your using B12 which is cobalamin. All the B's support immune system function and generally cannot be overdosed.. a B complex might be a better a choice.

What are you feeding including treats and supplements before this presented?

I got a marek's diagnosis from necropsy via UC Davis lab.. wings were working or at least able to flap. There are some live tests that can be done to confirm or rule out Marek's..
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/mareks-testing-in-living-birds.1206105/

Regarding separation.. I would try to do so in sight of the siblings where they can still interact some but she won't be trampled.

Plenty of birds do survive Marek's, including those who are vaccinated and have caught it but don't experience the symptoms and yet proliferate the virus.

Were the chicks incubator or broody hatched?

A broken leg would surely be expressing some swelling, redness, or heat, and limited range of motion without a pain response. Have you inspected for injury?

Hopeful for a full and speedy recovery!

Flamingo and her sister's were incubator hatched by someone local. They were with 6 chicks from tractor supply.

There doesn't seem to be injury that I can tell.

I'm feel like an idiot, the water medicine I bought doesn't have B-2... I can't believe this. I just ordered one with it!

 

[Zenzilicious]

While reading your post, the first thought that came to mind was that the chick seemed to be improving, but I was thinking you might have been too soon in bringing her back with the others. If she was improving, but still limping, I suspect she needed more recovery time separate from the others.

If you don't think the leg is broken, and it appears that the B-12 is helping, I would put her in a separate cage and continue that treatment but this time hold her until her limping symptoms have disappeared. As much as we may like our chickens, I honestly don't think our chickens like each other the same way. Chickens can be very cruel to a sick or injured bird in the flock. Often times, a few days in isolation are all that are needed for a chicken to recover. Sometimes longer.

I hope you keep us posted on the progress of your chick. She sure is cute and deserves the extra care you may need to give at this time. A little TLC can go a long way towards recovery.

I did put her back in because I thought she wanted to be with the other chicks. She will actively try to get to the other chicks and snuggle in with them.

But they don't seem to feel the same way, so I do think it's best to isolate for now!

 

[Zenzilicious]

What are you feeding including treats and supplements before this presented?

This is what they've been eating: https://www.chewy.com/kalmbach-feed...m=4585375811470567&utm_content=Food-Bird Food

I haven't given them any treats. We give our older outdoor chicks watermelon & treats, but Flamingo is still inside so she hasn't had any.

 

[gtaus]

I did put her back in because I thought she wanted to be with the other chicks. She will actively try to get to the other chicks and snuggle in with them.

But they don't seem to feel the same way, so I do think it's best to isolate for now!

Yeah, chickens are flock animals and they do best when kept with others of their kind. Having said that, if a chicken is sick or injured, then the flock can turn on them and make matters worse for the injured individual, including killing them. It must be some kind of survival instinct that works for the flock, but it would be great to hear if anyone really knows the dynamics of the flock and injured individuals.

I think it's best to keep your injured chick separated from the others until she is fully healed. She might be lonely for a few days or weeks, but no lasting damage when she goes back to the others when fully healed. Hope your chick gets better.