Brahma pullet with swollen leg

[Chickmom2025]

She's doing a sweeping motion when standing still and limps when walking she's about 4 weeks old ! She lives in a brooder with 5 other pullets all the same as her bought at the same time as her . She's otherwise healthy ! Any ideas as to what's going on !? Can she live like this or do we need to cull !?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Both legs look swollen to me.

She may be suffering from a leg deformity, Valgus Varus. But with both joints swollen like that MS (Mycoplasma Synoviae) also comes to mind. I'll tag in @Eggcessive to see if she may have some thoughts too.

A lot depends on what's causing this. If swelling is due to infection, then an antibiotic may be helpful, but it's also possible this can be a chronic issue.

Leg deformities usually are not correctable. Some birds can learn to adapt and move about to food/water. Others may find that as they get older and heavier, they can no longer support their weight and are unable to thrive.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1790586/

 

[Chickmom2025]

Both legs look swollen to me.

She may be suffering from a leg deformity, Valgus Varus. But with both joints swollen like that MS (Mycoplasma Synoviae) also comes to mind. I'll tag in @Eggcessive to see if she may have some thoughts too.

A lot depends on what's causing this. If swelling is due to infection, then an antibiotic may be helpful, but it's also possible this can be a chronic issue.

Leg deformities usually are not correctable. Some birds can learn to adapt and move about to food/water. Others may find that as they get older and heavier, they can no longer support their weight and are unable to thrive.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1790586/

It's only one joint that's swollen! She's eating and drinking fine . She also chirps like normal too . Should I just cull now or wait . I am having a hard time convincing myself to cull when she's growing and thriving

 

[Eggcessive]

Is she getting around to food and water okay? You can give her some time and see how she does. I would agree that it looks like a leg bone deformity. Varus or valgus, or a rotated leg/tibia are the common ones, and can get worse as they grow up. We have seen a few who could get around in a small flock and as long as they are not bullied, they can sometimes survive. Here are some links to read with pictures:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul...y/noninfectious-skeletal-disorders-in-poultry

https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/leg-health-in-large-broilers

 

[AinaWGSD]

I agree, it looks like an angular limb deformity. I had a chicken with this deformity this spring.

He was smaller than the rest right from the start, kinda scrungly looking even at (probably slightly less than) 1 day old. He always ate just as enthusiastically as the other chicks but didn't grow as fast and at about a week old only had about half as many feathers. That was also when we noticed his wings stuck out at the tips. It was around maybe 2 weeks old when we noticed he was cow hocked. As he got older his legs got worse, by 10-12 weeks his left leg was nearly backwards and he was starting to trip when he tried to walk. He still got along ok, but we culled at 12 weeks because we got these chicks to breed our own meat birds and this was obviously a trait we wanted to breed forward.

If he had been a pullet we would have tried to integrate her into our pet flock and tried to let her live a comfortable life as long as possible. I don't think there's anything wrong with giving your girl a chance as long as she's doing well. As long as you go into it understanding that you may have to cull in the end and monitor her for quality of life. Monitoring her weight, making sure she's able to get to the food, providing an alternative to roosting if she gets to the point she can't roost, those sorts of things.

 

[Eggcessive]

Hopefully, it is not MS. I’m not sure how old chicks are when swollen joints can show up. Please let us know how it gets along.