8 week old polish chick suddenly has week curled up feet

[featherfeet]

Yes try baby multi vit with B vitamin but NO iron. You can get both. I read somewhere. It to give them one with iron. At 15 weeks tho….maybe mareks. Even if vaxed. They miss sometimes at hatcheries.

Would it be Mareks if it’s ONLY the one pullet showing symptoms and both feet are sort of crumpled?! It was such sudden onset. I’m so upset! She is not vaccinated. We hatched her in our incubator.

 

[Lizzy733]

Have you checked for slipped tendon at all? You should be able to feel the tendon, like a string wrapping around the hock. Also, can you flex the foot? Do the toes splay when the foot is stretched and curl when relaxed? It's a pulley system, essentially and if slipped, will need to be physically moved back into correct position to heal.

Check to see if there is any paralysis. Pinching the toes to see if the chick reacts to pain is a good test for this.

 

[featherfeet]

Have you checked for slipped tendon at all? You should be able to feel the tendon, like a string wrapping around the hock. Also, can you flex the foot? Do the toes splay when the foot is stretched and curl when relaxed? It's a pulley system, essentially and if slipped, will need to be physically moved back into correct position to heal.

Check to see if there is any paralysis. Pinching the toes to see if the chick reacts to pain is a good test for this.

Trying to figure out how to upload videos but here’s a still where you can kind of see how her feet are both closed in on themselves. I don’t think both tendons would be injured…also, her eyes are clear.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would still suggest human B complex 1/4 tablet daily. It is much less expensive than baby vitamins, and hard to overdose. You can take it yourself. It is worth a try, and if it is riboflavin deficiency, you should see some improvement within a weeks or so. It can be common in chickens, but Mareks can be seen at that age as well. Hopefully, it is not Mareks.

 

[joydix]

Would it be Mareks if it’s ONLY the one pullet showing symptoms and both feet are sort of crumpled?! It was such sudden onset. I’m so upset! She is not vaccinated. We hatched her in our incubator.

Yes it could be. They would not all come down with symptoms at same time. I lost all of my original flock one by one except one brabanter who died last month 81/2 years old. Every time I lose one and have necropsy always shows mareks even if not cause of death. Once in big while I lose a young bird and that usually mareks. Heartbreaking every time. All because I bought 2 sweet pullets from a questionable source….when I first got started this time around. Decades ago I had 6 hens and never lost one from predator. Coop was not nearly as secure as now. No diseases. I knew nothing about chickens at all and no internet back then! Simpler life……I know too much now

 

[featherfeet]

Update: Brown Sugar is happy and healthy. We took her to the vet at the time of my original post. He was convinced it was irreversible nerve damage but said she wasn’t in pain. I hand fed her and made her practice walking and she made a full recovery. She is a social, broody, happy hen.