Black Australorp pullet having problems walking.

[70monte]

I got five 5 month Black Australorp pullets last week. The last couple of days, I noticed one of them limping like it's leg was hurt. I couldn't find anything physically wrong or injured looking. Today the limp is very pronounced and she can barely walk and mostly just sits on the ground. I doubt she will even be able to get on the roost tonight. She will eat if you put food in front of her. No nasty butts or noses. Does anyone have any ideas what could be wrong? Thanks.

Wayne

 

[gritsar]

Hi Wayne,

Have you checked for bumblefoot? It will look like a black scab on the bottom of her foot.

If it is, there are many, many threads on treating it. Just do a search using the keyword "bumblefoot".

Good luck!

 

[70monte]

Yes I have checked for it and there is no sign of bumblefoot or any other type of injury. She did get up on the roost last night and today she came out of the coop and has moved around to different locations but she mostly just sits. When she does walk, its with a very pronounced limp. She is favoring her left leg. None of the other chickens are showing any signs of this so I'm not sure if its some type of disease or not. I don't know if its the onset of Marek's disease or not.

When I pick her up, she feels kind of bony and yesterday she felt very hot but it was in the 90's with high humidity. I guess I'm just going to have to wait and see what happens. Thanks.

Wayne

 

[gritsar]

This may not be possible if it's as hot there as it is here, but... if you can isolate her to a small space to rest the leg it may help.

I had a hen sprain a leg and that's what I had to do; put her in a crate too small for her to do much moving around, with food and water right in front of her. In a couple of days her leg was back to normal.

 

[70monte]

Currently I have her seperated in one of the empty dog kennels which is fairly large. She moved around during the day but mainly stayed sitting down. I noticed that she was pretty unsteady when sitting and moving around and her wings would come out to help balance her. When she would walk, she wasn't limping as much but she acts like she doesn't have much strength in her legs.

She did eat a little but didn't look like she drank anything. As it started getting dark, she started getting agitated and was trying to get out of the kennel and making a lot of noise. I put some straw down on the concrete in one of the corners but I don't know is she will stay on it or not. She obviously wants to go back to the coop but I'm afraid to put her back with everyone else when I don't know what is wrong with her even though she has been with the rest of the chickens for over a week so they all have been exposed if she has some type of disease.

I also noticed that she is flaking pretty bad near her tail area. She doesn't have many tail feathers and the flakes seem to be coming from the new feathers that are coming up. Her poop also looked normal so that is good. I guess I will keep an eye on her and see what happens.

Wayne

 

[seminolewind]

It sounds like it could be Marek's, or maybe some neurological illness. Do you notice anything odd about her feather follicles? Are they large or irritated looking bumps?

 

[70monte]

No, her feather folicles look normal other that some are shedding. No redness or anything.

Wayne

 

[PAchickenlover]

Sounds EXACTLY like what happened to my Red. I have now dewormed her, baithed her legs in salt water (which she loved her "spa" treatment), I put petrolium jelly all over her legs, gave her a shot of Pennacillin for 3 days at 1/2cc, Put seven dust on her and DE. Red was a mess, she had leg mites, chicken lice, and we still don't know what happened to her leg. I can't tell you it was a total sucess story yet because she is atill limping on her Right leg but she has gotten the color back to her comb, which had turned a pinkish color. She had been limping around our house here for about a month before we finally noticed a red "bump or mark" on her leg.

This is the pic I took of the bump or mark that was on her leg. Which is now gone!

When she walks she picks her leg up really high. and when she is standing she is normally on one leg. I still have her isolated from my Roo's but I do have some hens in with her my Bantams that is. She seems to be getting a little better every day. Give her some time and keep a close watch on her legs for any signs of problems.

Mollie

Sorry it is so long!

 

[PAchickenlover]

How is she doing?

 

[70monte]

She seems about the same or a little worse. She acts fine other than she can't hardly walk. it seems like she has less use of her legs than before. I don't think she is actually walking anymore, just kind of scooting herself around. She is constantly trying to balance herself with her wings. When she is sitting there, her feet are kind of curled up in front of her. Her comb is red and her poop still looks normal. She finally drank some water after I put the bowl in front of her. I don't think she has eaten much today. I feel sorry for her and don't know what to do for her. I personally don't think she is going to get better. I'm also going out of town for three days starting on Tuesday so my GF's mom is going to be feeding the chickens so she isn't going to be getting any close care while I'm gone.

I know I should probably cull her but I just can't get myself to do it.

Wayne