Baby chick with injured leg!

[TheBirdLady2001]

Hello, I came home to one of my baby chicks laying in the bedding. She’s not using either of her legs, and her toes are curled. I tried to get her to walk but she just falls over. She lays with her legs crossed or doing the splits. She’s eating and drinking fine. I don’t think it’s broken, and there was only a little bit of blood. What should I do?

 

[alexa009]

Is she acting normal? Like maybe eating drinking? Not quiet?

 

[rebrascora]

Unfortunately that looks like Marek's disease.
The best you can do is offer supportive care and good nutrition. Vitamins B and E may help or a general vitamin supplement like Nutri Drench or Rooster Booster and making her a chicken sling or hammock will help keep her in a more upright position and able to feed herself. If you do a google search for images of chicken sling, you will get some ideas or put "chicken sling" into the search field here on BYC. Unfortunately Marek's is an extreme common viral disease of mostly young/adolescent chickens and there is no recognised treatment. There are many different symptoms and not all birds will exhibit all of them, but a common one is limb paralysis and legs sticking out in front or behind or doing the splits is fairly typical of it. I have had some floundering on their side like this for a few days and then suddenly recover as though nothing had ever been amiss, but usually they have secondary and more lasting/severe attacks a few weeks/months or even a year later. Sadly many deteriorate and eventually die. The virus compromises their immune system as well as causing swelling of the nerves, which leads to the paralysis and the development of tumours, so birds with Marek's sometimes become ill and die with Coccidiosis, or respiratory disease when other birds fight it off.
I wish you luck with your girl. Unfortunately, if it is Marek's, she will be a carrier for life if she survives and you must assume that the rest of your flock has been exposed and are also carriers....I hope she is the only one to suffer this. It is a heart breaking disease but may not be as bad as some of the info you read abaout it, so don't lose hope.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[TheBirdLady2001]

Is she acting normal? Like maybe eating drinking? Not quiet?

She’s eating and drinking fine. Chirping along with the rest of the chicks trying to follow them around.

 

[TheBirdLady2001]

Unfortunately that looks like Marek's disease.
The best you can do is offer supportive care and good nutrition. Vitamins B and E may help or a general vitamin supplement like Nutri Drench or Rooster Booster and making her a chicken sling or hammock will help keep her in a more upright position and able to feed herself. If you do a google search for images of chicken sling, you will get some ideas or put "chicken sling" into the search field here on BYC. Unfortunately Marek's is an extreme common viral disease of mostly young/adolescent chickens and there is no recognised treatment. There are many different symptoms and not all birds will exhibit all of them, but a common one is limb paralysis and legs sticking out in front or behind or doing the splits is fairly typical of it. I have had some floundering on their side like this for a few days and then suddenly recover as though nothing had ever been amiss, but usually they have secondary and more lasting/severe attacks a few weeks/months or even a year later. Sadly many deteriorate and eventually die. The virus compromises their immune system as well as causing swelling of the nerves, which leads to the paralysis and the development of tumours, so birds with Marek's sometimes become ill and die with Coccidiosis, or respiratory disease when other birds fight it off.
I wish you luck with your girl. Unfortunately, if it is Marek's, she will be a carrier for life if she survives and you must assume that the rest of your flock has been exposed and are also carriers....I hope she is the only one to suffer this. It is a heart breaking disease but may not be as bad as some of the info you read abaout it, so don't lose hope.

Best wishes

Barbara

That is awful :/ thank you for all your information. So is it contagious? She is with 14 other baby chicks and some quails. Will they get it? Should I separate them all from her ?

 

[alexa009]

She’s eating and drinking fine. Chirping along with the rest of the chicks trying to follow them around.

Then it might very well be Mareks, try to give it a day and see if she is improving, if she gets worse then I am thinking it is Mareks disease.

 

[alexa009]

That is awful :/ thank you for all your information. So is it contagious? She is with 14 other baby chicks and some quails. Will they get it? Should I separate them all from her ?

Mareks is contagious, Yes.

 

[Eggcessive]

Rebascora is a very good authority and teacher about Mareks disease. I would urge you to give the poultry multivitamins, and make sure they contain riboflavin (vitamin B2,) E, thiamine, and give a tsp of plain yogurt in food daily. I would give it a week or two of care before giving up, since vitamin deficiencies can cause lameness. Even coccidiosis can cause weakness and lameness. How old is the young chick? Mareks is common in unvaccinated chickens up until around 25 weeks of age. It can present with weakness or paralysis in a wing or leg, twisting of the neck, imbalance with using wings to help, and sometimes eye changes. Google "chicken slings" for some good images of how to make one.

 

[calicobella]

hey guys! i have a 1-2 week old polish chick named buttercup, just today she fell into the water dish and made it out, shes dry again now, but it appears that one of her legs is injured, i can see blood on the inside of he leg and shes not walking anywhere, please help!