chicken with leg drawn up

[mark s]

this is the third chicken that has had this problem, leg is stretched out and claw is drawn tight, they are golden comets, just starting to lay eggs. any help would be great.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi there.

Sorry for your trouble.

Where are you located? Were they Marek's vaccinated?

 

[mark s]

ky, bought them from a T.S.C. store.

 

[True Patriot]

Can you post pics of what they're doing? What are you feeding? (include treats and suppliments) Are there any other symptoms? There are several possibilities as to cause, the easiest to start with is boosting their vitamin intake. Adding something like poultry cell to their water will help treat and prevent neurological problems that arise from deficiency. Also give the feet and legs a good check. Look for any swollen areas, mites, and scabbing. Any more information or pictures you can give may help narrow down the cause.

 

[rebrascora]

What happened to the other two with the same problem? Can you post a video of how she is moving....it needs to be hosted by the likes of You Tube and then alink posted here.
As @EggSighted4Life has mentioned, Marek's disease is the likely cause especially with point of lay birds and more than one exhibiting leg issues. They will not have been vaccinated if you got them from TSC. The best you can do is give them a good quality poultry vitamin supplement like Nutri Drench or Poultry Cell and keep them happy and well fed as you can. If they stop eating then I usually euthanize them at that point because they go downhill quickly after that.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

ky, bought them from a T.S.C. store.

I agree they will NOT have been vaccinated with TSC standard shipped chicks.

Also agree there could be many possibilities including vitamin/mineral deficit or others... Depending on what you feed and if you have much bullying going on. However, the current MAIN suspect is Marek's.

I agree with @rebrascora about how you can try to help them.

The supplements mentioned are good. E and selenium are the ones that often cause issues with walking... so I might do extra of those.

However, for ME... if I suspect Marek's or see ANY limping with no sign of injury... cuts, pokes, redness, swelling, heat to the touch, or pain response... I cull IMMEDIATELY. While it's true others have already been exposed, since it takes 3 weeks MINIMUM for symptoms to show... The birds who are displaying... are actively shedding MORE virus among the flock.

Here is the best info put together that I have seen on the subject...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

If this gal passes, I would suggest refrigerating and get a necropsy to confirm cause. Links/info to help with that...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-send-a-bird-for-a-necropsy-pictures.799747/

Kentucky University of Kentucky,
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
1490 Bull Lea Rd
Lexington, Kentucky 40511-1264
Phone: 859-257-8283
CSF, IAV-A, FMD, ND, PRV

 

[Eggcessive]

I would also recommend the use of riboflavin (vitamin B2) since riboflavin deficiency can sometimes cause lameness and curled under toes (sometimes called curled toe paralysis.) Mareks can also be a common cause of this. B complex tablets can be crushed onto food once a day to boost riboflavin.

It does sound like possible Mareks disease. What do you feed your chickens? Here is a good article about riboflavin deficiency:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/217/vitamin-b2-deficiency/