6yr old silkie can’t walk on one leg! Advice please

[esme13]

Her foot/leg in the air is what is causing her problems. I have one vet in my area that if I can get a hold of has one vet that sees poultry. But no one has gotten back to me and they do not do emergency visit.
In the meantime I want to make her comfortable, do I wrap her leg? Splint it?
Her condition is she can not put any weight on it, she flaps trying to balance herself. She is alert, pooping , will eat if I place food in front of her. I’ve left her in the coop, she was resting on the eggs, which I did remove.
Is there anything else I can do for her? I don’t even know if the vet will have any room this weekend as I’ve had a lot of troubles with trying to get my medical dog be seen in emergencies.

 

[esme13]

She has an appt for Tuesday, any advice would be greatly appreciated. That was the soonest they’d see her with the avian vet.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your silkie. Will she walk? A short video uploaded to to YouTube or Vimeo with a link posted here of her walking might be helpful. Do you believe that she injured the leg or was jumped on? Have you checked for any swelling, discoloration, or green bruising? It can be hard to see in birds with black or gray skin. Have you added any birds recently who may have come from a flock that was exposed to Mareks? Was she vaccinated? It is good that she is eating, so I would keep her close to food and water. A chicken sling for some of the day can help to get her up and in front of food/water. Mareks disease is usually not the cause of lameness in an older chicken, but it can happen. Hopefully, it is just an injury that rest will help.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here are some links for chicken slings:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

 

[esme13]

Sorry about your silkie. Will she walk? A short video uploaded to to YouTube or Vimeo with a link posted here of her walking might be helpful. Do you believe that she injured the leg or was jumped on? Have you checked for any swelling, discoloration, or green bruising? It can be hard to see in birds with black or gray skin. Have you added any birds recently who may have come from a flock that was exposed to Mareks? Was she vaccinated? It is good that she is eating, so I would keep her close to food and water. A chicken sling for some of the day can help to get her up and in front of food/water. Mareks disease is usually not the cause of lameness in an older chicken, but it can happen. Hopefully, it is just an injury that rest will help.

I will take a video shortly of her. I hope it’s not mareks, it’s definitely something that is on my mind with the huge flock of wild sparrows.

Thursday night when I went to go check on two chicks, I did hear a thud. I know someone either jumped or fell from the roost. It was dark and I didn’t want to open the back door and cause anyone else to jump/fall. I had opened the egg basket, so I couldn’t see the main area and it was dark. The newer chicks/ pullet. Are from their eggs and one is from June 3 and is vaccinated. My hatched 7 week old one is not.

Lil peep (the silkie), was never vaccinated, but the rest of the hens are except (the hatched chick.). Which is their egg from the coop.

My husband said he didn’t feel anything noticeably broken when feeling her leg, he thinks it may be dislocated. I’m just incredibly nervous, because all the outcomes are not good with a waiting period until Tuesday.

 

[esme13]

How do I upload a video from the phone? It shows just the photo album.

I think she is wasting away, she feels very light. I want to say last week I did notice her acting off and not coming for food and isolating away in the bushes. She does eat, just not begging like she usually is, under the foot. I’m wondering if her not being strong from not eating could have caused a weaker bone / body and led to the leg injury. If this was mareks? How long for others to show symptoms?

 

[esme13]

Thursday she was walking around , Friday was when she didn’t leave the coop and was in the egg box. At first I thought maybe she went broody, but she stopped laying last year. That’s when I went and saw yesterday late afternoon that the leg is not moving at all. No curly toes. Her good leg she tries to use and her wing to move around, but she falls to the side do to the balance. She won’t let me touch her good leg, the bad leg, it’s like she can’t feel.

I am not sure if mareks happens literally over night, but from watching the video it seems the balance would start to be off abd she did not experienced any odd walking Thursday. I watched her walk back to the coop that evening. The only real concern I had was her isolating under the witch hazel bush and not interested in the snacks I had for her last week. I told my DH that I felt she may be passing soon and than this happened. Maybe poor timing , maybe not. I’m just frustrated that the vet wouldn’t see her sooner.

 

[Eggcessive]

I am not sure about uploading the video to your phone, but just know that most upload them to YouTube with a link here. If you should lose her, you can get a necropsy by your state poultry vet, which I think is at Cornell, to find out if she had Mareks or something else. This list has your state vet, and bodies must be kept cold, but not frozen, and taken in or shipped overnight M-F:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[esme13]

I am not sure about uploading the video to your phone, but just know that most upload them to YouTube with a link here. If you should lose her, you can get a necropsy by your state poultry vet, which I think is at Cornell, to find out if she had Mareks or something else. This list has your state vet, and bodies must be kept cold, but not frozen, and taken in or shipped overnight M-F:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Thank you, that’s an option, hoping the vet has some options. She won’t drink on her own, but will eat on her own. I’ve been dribbling water to her. The leg and toes have no reaction to being touched. I’ve curled her toes and they just retract to their normal position. Her foot is warm, but I do not see swelling. She just leans to her side. A slight tremor , probably due to pain. What can I give her, any kind of pain meds for chickens?

 

[Swbertrand1]

Silkies can be a little accident prone. Is it possible she hurt herself in the coop, possibly jumping off a roost bar?

Have you examined her leg closely to make sure she hasn't suffered some sort of bite or laceration that might be causing the tenderness?

As offered above, keep her off it the leg if you can and make her comfortable. I would keep her in an enclosure where she is not encouraged to try to jump or even walk, something like a small low-sided box or plastic tub. If she were mine, I'd keep her inside too......