Chicken having a hard time walking

[Chickchick121]

One of our hens on Saturday was making noises and when we went to let the chickens out of the coop, she was in the coop and would not come out. She would hop but had a hard time walking. Her feet (picture attached) were crumpled. Today, she lifted her head but would not move. We isolated her in the coop with her own access to food and water. We are not sure if this is due to injury or if she has some kind of disease. Please help!

 

[Chickchick121]

This was her on Saturday

 

[coach723]

How old is she? First thing I would do is get a human super B complex tablet or capsule (human ones, regular not time release) and give her one once a day. Deficiencies in B's are not uncommon and can cause symptoms like this. The vitamins may be the fix, if not they won't hurt anything.
Give her a good going over to check for any injuries or wounds hiding in feathers. Check for lice/mites. Get a look at her droppings, see if they are normal. Monitor her crop function, make sure she's eating and drinking normally. Her crop should have food in it when she goes to sleep and then it should be empty in the morning before she has access to food and water again. I would crate her in a wire crate until you have a better idea what's going on so you can monitor her. That can either be in the run where the others can still see her and she can see them, or if she needs to be warmer then inside somewhere. Keeping her with the others makes reintegration easier later.
How many birds do you have, ages, and in how much space?

 

[Chickchick121]

How old is she? First thing I would do is get a human super B complex tablet or capsule (human ones, regular not time release) and give her one once a day. Deficiencies in B's are not uncommon and can cause symptoms like this. The vitamins may be the fix, if not they won't hurt anything.
Give her a good going over to check for any injuries or wounds hiding in feathers. Check for lice/mites. Get a look at her droppings, see if they are normal. Monitor her crop function, make sure she's eating and drinking normally. Her crop should have food in it when she goes to sleep and then it should be empty in the morning before she has access to food and water again. I would crate her in a wire crate until you have a better idea what's going on so you can monitor her. That can either be in the run where the others can still see her and she can see them, or if she needs to be warmer then inside somewhere. Keeping her with the others makes reintegration easier later.
How many birds do you have, ages, and in how much space?

We have 8 birds. They are 21 and 24 weeks old. They are in a 8 by 18 coop. We have 3 roosters and know we need to figure out only one to keep and didn’t know if she could have gotten hurt but it doesn’t look like it. We put her in a crate on Saturday inside of the coop.

 

[coach723]

How is her weight? Keel bone well muscled or very prominent? She may be getting kept from food, happens particularly to lower pecking order birds. That can contribute to vitamin deficiencies. If you can increase the space some that might help. I would at least separate 2 of the cockerels out for now. Adding feeders and waterers so they all have more chances for access might help also. Some birds will claim and guard feeders, make it so they can't guard them all. I'd make sure she's eating well, and do the vitamins, see if you get some improvement.

 

[Chickchick121]

How is her weight? Keel bone well muscled or very prominent? She may be getting kept from food, happens particularly to lower pecking order birds. That can contribute to vitamin deficiencies. If you can increase the space some that might help. I would at least separate 2 of the cockerels out for now. Adding feeders and waterers so they all have more chances for access might help also. Some birds will claim and guard feeders, make it so they can't guard them all. I'd make sure she's eating well, and do the vitamins, see if you get some improvement.

It seems bony. She ate today but she still Won’t stand and she keeps her legs either out in front of her when she sits or one in front and one behind and she is not walking. Could she be egg bound?

 

[coach723]

Leg paralysis that presents with one leg forward and one leg back is a common symptom of Marek's disease. It often hits birds at point of lay age, which is about the age she is. I would do the vitamin supplements, see if you get any improvement. If she is pooping then she isn't egg bound. If she is having trouble staying upright and comfortable you can use a chicken sling to keep her more comfortable and make it easier for her to eat and drink. You do need to supervise, some birds tolerate the sling well, but some don't and you don't want her to hurt herself trying to get out of it. Some examples of slings pictured below.

 

[Chickchick121]

Thank you for all your help. If it is Marek’s will all of our flock get it? We are getting a few baby chicks soon and are going to integrate them in. If we did, and our current flock are now carries, would it affect them?

 

[coach723]

IF it is Marek's then all of your flock has been exposed. Not every bird shows symptoms, but all have to be considered carriers. Some strains are more virulent than others, some strains are milder, and every birds immune system is different. There is a place in Texas that will do a PCR test for Marek's on a blood sample from a live bird (a drop of blood from a cut toenail) if you want to do that to confirm or rule it out.
Info and a link in this thread, post #7: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-walking-like-intoxicated.1498979/#post-25041992
There are other diseases that can cause symptoms that mimic Marek's symptoms, so what looks like Marek's is not always Marek's. So either the test or a necropsy after they pass is the only way to know for sure.
More info on Marek's here, it's a long, but informative, read:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/