Chick with injured leg?

[tnchickymomma]

We ordered our chicks through My Pet Chicken and had them vaccinated for Mareks. Could they still get it?

 

[tnchickymomma]

Thank you for the links.
I read the info, and I don't think it's Marek's. She has absolutely no symptoms other than the leg issue. Eating and drinking just fine, poop is normal, she is alert and chirping and loving when I scratch her neck. No tumors or skin issues that I can see, eyes, comb and waddle normal. I guess I just stick with the vitamins and exercising her leg and lots of attention. And keeping her isolated
I just think due to her being vaccinated and having no other symptoms, it seems unlikely. But I am very new to this and could be wrong!

 

[Nutcup]

Pecker is up and down. She gets bursts of energy, then lays there for a long time with her legs out to the side. She eats and drinks sometimes with gusto, sometimes with prodding. No signs of anything on her skin or legs, poop is back to normal :>)

 

[Nutcup]

I came home today and immediately checked on my chickens as usual. When I was changing their food and water they had all moved to the far side of the brooder except for one of my RIR. She was just sitting still right in the middle. When I tried to pick her up, she got up, hobbled just several inches away and plopped back down. She looked like she couldn't walk balanced. I picked her up and examined her and couldn't find a visible sign of injury. When I lift her she just hangs her legs. So I put her in a box on her own with some shavings, food, and water. She was eating and drinking, eating with gusto in fact! I went back a bit later to check on her and there were 2 poops in the box. One normal and one that was either diarrhea or cecal. Looked like melted chocolate and smelled really bad. I examined her again thinking I missed something. I checked out her legs closely. She didn't squawk or squirm like she was in pain. One leg seemed normal, I could feel her moving and trying to pull it out of my hand. The other leg was just hanging. It was like it was inside her skin but not attached to anything. Again, though, she didn't respond like I was hurting her. (Do chickens do that?)
So help, please! I was thinking dislocation, does that happen? My girls are 6 weeks old, just a couple days away from moving out to their coop, and so far they have been super healthy and growing like crazy.

Thank you Eggcessive. Yes, the symptoms are like Merick's but nothing visible except the legs. Looking back this may have started a week ago or maybe more. We noticed she set a lot more than the other 3, but the other Cochin Nelly sets a lot, too; they're not as active and aggressive as the Americanas.

 

[tnchickymomma]

The latest on my little RIR:
Well, she isn't worse so I will take that as a good sign. I bought her a pet carrier so she could go out and live in the coop with her sisters, and she seemed to really get excited about being out there. I take her out twice a day, clean any poop out of her shavings as well as off her. Give her lots of good scratches. Fresh food and water twice a day as well, with liquid B12 and electrolytes in the water. Since she doesn't squawk or squirm and show signs of pain when I move her legs, I support her chest and belly while I exercise her legs. Everything else about her still looking good. I feel like at this point I am doing everything I can. Hopefully it will be enough!

 

[Shabana]

I nursed a young pullet with a badly broken ankle.
She never showed signs if pain as it's not in their nature and they hide it but the break was bad.
I splinted her leg and foot with cotton wool q tips and vet wrap and washed her bottom daily as she couldn't do more than shuffle about at the start. She was in a deep plush cat bed to save any "bed sores"
I had to assist feed her at the beginning for probably 3 weeks as she had given up.
The break took 6-8 weeks to heal and she now walks with a limp but is a very happy member of her flock.
These things can often take a lot longer to heal than is suggested on the forums. I would suggest not exercising her leg as you might be causing her a lot of pain which she will hide and endure.
My hen used to enjoy a weekly bath as I think the warm water helped.
I used to feed her a little extra protein in the form of fishy cat food or scrambled eggs too which was easy to digest.
She slept with a teddy while she was isolated which was a good 2-3 months and was given loads of attention and was gradually introduced to her flock mates over a period of 2-3 weeks by using a seperate run next to their pen.
It was very hard work and intense at times, but when I watch her now it was completely worth it.

Very best of luck to you both xx

 

[Nutcup]

Pecker can't stand at all, and can't seem to extend her wings or do much preening. She squeals when I extend a wing or push on her upper thigh. I'm afraid she will not regain her strength if I don't stimulate her legs and wings gently. I have also bathed her when she gets poop stuck in her feathers. I gave her some melon which she gobbled up with gusto. The problem was the gooey poop. With just the organic feed and water her poops appear normal. I went to the local pet shops looking for supplements, but neither have any chicken supplies. The feed store where we bought the chicks and supplies originally is too far to just drop in. I imagine the vitamins might help... maybe I will call the vet, but that's always expensive...

 

[Nutcup]

Pecker's not any worse, maybe getting a little stronger. When I support her on her legs she eats & drinks with gusto. I've tried piling straw on both sides of her so she can sit upright. She likes that, but gets excited and tries to stand. then she flips herself over because she can't control her legs or wings. Fortunately her head and neck work just fine. Her left side seems to hurt more than the right, and she doesn't like to lay on that side. I get happy when I see her preening her breast and shoulders, but she can't get under her wings. I give her physical therapy several times a day when I make the time off all my other obligations. She squeals at me when she needs my help, like if she has a piece of straw stuck in her beak or gets too thirsty. poor baby, but she's getting a little better...

 

[Eggcessive]

The latest on my little RIR:
Well, she isn't worse so I will take that as a good sign. I bought her a pet carrier so she could go out and live in the coop with her sisters, and she seemed to really get excited about being out there. I take her out twice a day, clean any poop out of her shavings as well as off her. Give her lots of good scratches. Fresh food and water twice a day as well, with liquid B12 and electrolytes in the water. Since she doesn't squawk or squirm and show signs of pain when I move her legs, I support her chest and belly while I exercise her legs. Everything else about her still looking good. I feel like at this point I am doing everything I can. Hopefully it will be enough!

I would give her either poultry vitamins in her water or PolyVisol without iron infant vitamins 3 drops daily by mouth, since you want her to get B1 thiamine and B2 riboflavin. Another approach would be to crushed a B complex tablet daily over her food.

 

[Nutcup]

Thank you Egg. I wish I had some good advice for your RR :>)

I crushed a B Complex tab and did as you said, I also rinsed the dust off my fingers into her water. Well, it gave her a very loose bm, but it sure perked her up some as well. Just one loose poop, hard to clean off, the rest have been normal. She's eating and drinking well, but her legs are still weird. Today they seemed to cramp backwards - I've never seen such a thing. Her toes were curled up (backwards from gripping) almost 90 degrees and her legs were stuck straight out. I massaged her feet and legs until she relaxed and then she wanted to eat. I support her with my hand under her breast while she eats or drinks until she relaxes her knees and kind of squats. Then I pile straw up on both sides carefully, while keeping as calm as I can, so she can eat or preen until she kicks her legs out and propels her body somewhere else. She really seems to like feeling sort of normal for awhile, not laying on her side. I'm making her use the legs a little each day, but she can't keep her balance at all.

Other chores get put off while I tend to this pullet. I've raised chickens for eggs and meat but never had one as a pet before. I would never have imagined me doing this, and I've learned more about them than I ever imagined either.