Bad limp in Silkie Hen

[aszs0302]

Hello! I have a 10 mo black silkie hen who has a really bad limp. I noticed one afternoon that she had not come out of the coop with the other hens like usual. When I checked on her she was sitting in the coop alone, I picked her up and set her out with her friends and that's when I noticed her limp. She could barely walk, loosing her balance very easily. I brought her inside and inspected her legs and feet. No bumblefoot or leg mites. It is hard to see her whole legs because of all that silkie leg fur. Somewhat looks like her leg is just not in the right placement? Like i said its hard to tell fully, silkies are so so fluffy <33 The only way for her to really hurt herself is jumping from the roost or nesting boxes that are only about 1.5 feet off the ground. We have no larger animals that would have stepped on her. She has been inside in a small carrier on some hay with food and water next to her. She mostly rests and only stands up slightly to poop and move around a little. I took her out today to see if there was any improvement after she had been resting for a whole week. I could barely get her to walk, but when she did there is not much improvement at all and I am very worried about my poor girl I do not want her to suffer longer than need be, but would hate to put her down. I don't have an avian vet nearby to look at her. Any advice would be helpful at this point. Maybe she just needs more time to recover? Also have read a thread about letting chickens with injured legs rest in some warm water in the sink for a little while everyday to speed up recovery, but im not sure? Thanks so much for reading.
There is a video of her at

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. It sounds like you are doing the right things for a sprain or possible broken leg. Did she have a Mareks vaccine? That could be another possibility, especially since her balance is off. I would treat her with B vitamins, or poultry vitamins in her water. Make sure that she can reach her food and water because some chickens with Mareks can starve due to their mobility problems. Many people have Mareks in their flock, so it isn't necessarily a death sentence if she has it. Here are 2 good sources on Mareks for your reading:
http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf
http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/search/disease/502

 

[aszs0302]

Thank you so much for your response, the websites have me questioning the Mareks disease for sure, as I do not think she was vaccinated for it. I will do some research and try to determine if this is the cause of her injury. I have definitely seen her with the one "limp" foot stretched out so far in front of her, its not normal what so ever, but she does not do that all the time? Also, I will be taking a trip down to the feed store to purchase some vitamins today, anything for my girl. Again thanks again this was very helpful! Glad I have joined this group online!

 

[Eggcessive]

You are so welcome, and I hope it's not Mareks. Sometimes the paralysis can disappear, and then other symptoms may come later. You might want to join in reading this thread which involves many BYCers going through Mareks--you will find many answers here, and can post questions to anyone: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/741957/not-an-emergency-mareks-in-the-flock

 

[ten chicks]

Thank you so much for your response, the websites have me questioning the Mareks disease for sure, as I do not think she was vaccinated for it. I will do some research and try to determine if this is the cause of her injury. I have definitely seen her with the one "limp" foot stretched out so far in front of her, its not normal what so ever, but she does not do that all the time? Also, I will be taking a trip down to the feed store to purchase some vitamins today, anything for my girl. Again thanks again this was very helpful! Glad I have joined this group online!

Also look up info for a slipped achilles tendon./leg issues.

Saw video and she very well could have a tendon issue,using wing/hobbling for balance is common in leg issues.

i am currently treating a large rooster for tendon issues,i originally though he had a sprain(and was treating as such)but now realize it is a tendon issue,so he is now undergoing therapy for this.

 

[aszs0302]

Wow there is so many things that could be wrong I am having a hard time determining what exactly is going on, as I really cant see the leg that well whatsoever. I think today I will put her in some warm water, and hopefully I will be able to see her leg a bit clearer with her fur matted down...Also I read a thread on here about giving Mareks chickens Hypericum from St Johns Wart as a homeopathic cure...really not sure about that, but everyone on the thread seems to think this may help. I will for sure keep this thread updated! thanks all again so much

 

[aszs0302]

"ten chicks" how are you going about treating the rooster? curious, as I am willing to try anything at this point but am not sure how to go about beginning a therapeutic treatment.

 

[heath_elisha]

My roo hurt his leg somehow last year and thought maybe he broke it. We just bandaged it for a couple days and let things take it's course. He recovered fine, small limp.... but otherwise ok. Not sure what happened to him- but we did lower the roosts for awhile and made sure he didn't slip on ice or anything.

 

[ten chicks]

"ten chicks" how are you going about treating the rooster? curious, as I am willing to try anything at this point but am not sure how to go about beginning a therapeutic treatment.

If you run your thumb down the back of her leg starting where it joins body(hock) to the shank(scales start) you can actually feel tendon snap back in. It will feel similar to an elastic band and will move. Grab your girl,run your fingers down outside of both legs so that you can feel the difference.

I had been treating my boy for a sprain for little over a week,he was still hobbling,so i decided to had to be a tendon issue,yup soon as i ran my thumb down back of leg i felt it(,pressed and snapped it back in(feel like an elastic band)he immediately started walking better and standing taller. If it doesn't stay in place i will tape it for a couple of days,i also gently pull his leg back,like they would normally do when stretching.

 

[aszs0302]

I put shadow, my silkie hen, in a warmth bath for about 15 minutes. She seemed to enjoy it very well, and I think I will do it every other day to see if it will help. I took some pictures of her with her legs matted down. You can see the un-normal way she is standing in the picture. I felt her legs and couldn't notice any major difference in the two of them. Unfortunately my feed store is closed today and tomorrow for the holiday so I will not be able to get vitamins till Tuesday AM.