Hello! We went into the barn today and found one of the chickens dragging her leg. She is getting around fine and when I held her she lets me bend it and touch it. She doesn't seem to be in pain but she isn't using her leg. Also when I hold her foot it doesn't grip my finger like her other foot does. Any thoughts or suggestions on a way to help her?
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Sounds like Mareck's disease, which can paralyze one or both legs. It is very contagious so she would need to be separated from the rest of the flock. And because the other chickens in the flock will likely attack her for displaying weakness.
Look up "Marecks disease" it has several types some tumors in various places, another type causes paralysis of the feet.
Depending on how difficult the paralysis is and if she can take care of herself with the condition. As to whether she needs to be culled or care for herself.
Depends, can she can adapt to being able to move for eating, drinking, pooping, dust bathing, roosting and ect.
I have one chicken with partial paralysis in both feet, she cannot flatten out her feet. Her "claws" will not respond flat to walk properly. She cannot walk without using her wings for balance. We believe it is Mareks disease because at 3 months old this deveveloped in a sudden time frame of 2 days. She was being attacked by some of our flock because she couldn't walk properly.
So we separated her from the flock. She is 8 months old now gives us a nice green egg every day. She looks and acts healthier as far as eating and drinking, she has beautiful feathers, a healthy crop, is just active as the rest of the flock, but she is separated from them. She can fly well if need be. She is able to wrap her feet around a roost during the night. The roost is low enough for her to eat and drink from or she will tuck her feet in and eat and drink comfortably. She trys to give herself a dust bath but has trouble scratching up enough dust to do it properly. So we have a plastic container to put her in. So we can put lime mixed with dry dirt all over her. She is still doing great but alone because she is on the other side of the fence as her sister hens. The contagion possibility is the reason we keep her separate. But the whole flock is likely already Marecks positive so she probably could be with them, but just in case we still keep her separate that and so they will not attack her for exhibiting weekness.
I hope this gives you some diagnostic help. It could just as well be an injury higher up on her leg joint. We had another with a limp but it had a swollen or out of joint "hock joint" just above the shank. Harder to see because feathers are right there. But you can feel or compare the differences in size of the joint. Usually this will just cause a limp. Depends on if it is accompanied by an injury. Hope shed some possibilities you can explore.
