chicken cant stand :(

[jenni87]

Hi folks, I have 3 chickens which are approximately 1 year old. One of them developed a slight limp a few days ago and it has now progressed to her being unable to stand. Initially she was able to stand when I supported her but now she just remains sitting and if I lift her she takes a few steps then stumbles and falls. I have read a little on Mareks disease recently but she doesnt seem to be showing the classic one leg forward, one leg back posture or head/neck paralysis which is described in some of the literature and as far as I am aware they were vaccinated.

She is still eating, drinking and laying but as she cant move aroud she is probably not eating as much as usual so I am worried she may become even weaker.

They are mainly fed layers pellets with occasional mealworms and veg as a treat and forage in the whole garden(no toxic plants in the garden either just a pet sheep who seems to think shes one of them!). I thought the diet would be nutritionally balanced for them but is there a specific vitamin or mineral deficiency that could cause her to become lame/weak?

One of the other hens has a slight limp but has had that for a while and I think that is from a strain/sprain (I noticed her getting onto the garden wall then landing in a bit of a heap when she decided to get down the quick way!)

I'm pretty new to keeping chickens so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Are your roosts very high off the ground? Can you examine the bottoms of her feet for dark spots, and the joints for swelling or redness? Some vitamin deficiencies such as riboflavin, can cause curled toe paralysis and sitting back on hocks or elbows. Mineral deficiencies can also cause problems with legs. Make sure that your feed is fresh. Mareks can still sometimes be a problem in a small percentage of cases of vaccinated chickens. I would start poultry vitamins with minerals in the feed. Rooster Booster Poultry Booster is an easy to find brand. Mareks is a complicated disease with 4 types of symptoms, and each chicken's symptoms can vary quite a bit. Many times there is a paralyzed leg or wing, and trying to balance with wings in the beginning. Here are some good links to read about it, as well as a link about vitamin deficiency:
http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou..._poultry/vitamin_deficiencies_in_poultry.html
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou..._poultry/mineral_deficiencies_in_poultry.html

 

[jenni87]

thanks for the quick response. There are no dark spots on her feet and no sign of redness or inflamation. The roost is only a foot or so off the ground so I don't think shes injured herself getting on and off it. I realise it may seem a silly question but if it is Maleks, how quickly would it progress? She went from not moving around much to completely off her feet in just over a day and her condition has stayed the same for the last 2 days. Her toes are curled but that only happened after she was off her feet.
I'm just trying to make her comfortable and making sure she has access to fresh food and water but I'll get some rooster booster and add it to her food tomorrow.

 

[jenni87]

Hi, just a quick update, Freckles is up on her feet again and foraging a little in the garden with her friends she's gradually been improving and starting to move around more over the last week after getting the extra vitamins added to her feeding but this is the first day she's been moving around and foraging with the others. So happy to see she seems to be on the mend. Thank you for the advice and help. I'm sure if the little lady could type she'd thank you too

 

[Eggcessive]

Thank you for the update. It's wonderful to hear that she is back to normal.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Thank you for the update. It's wonderful to hear that she is back to normal.

Hurrah! I am glad to hear the vitamins worked (just saw this thread but wanted to send my happy response anyway)!

x2