Chicken with leg injury

[Jamoxam]

hi all

I feel bad for joining the site then immediately asking for help but don't know what else to do!

I have an approx 4 moth old hybrid hen ( not sure what as was given to me by a local farmer )

She won't stand up at all and sticks her leg out behind her like it's injured. I have felt along and it and can feel no break. I can only imagine she caught it in her chicken wire whilst jumping on the wooden rail. There is no visible damage. Video below and pic? Lastly she is eating and drinking well just hobbles along in her face!

Ps it won't let me post video not sure how to change it to .mov from an iPhone!

 

[Jamoxam]

Hi link to video

 

[izigg]

I just found a break I didnt find at first in the middle of the leg between the thickest part of the musces o the leg you may want to be sure and check there, I missed it first mself and wondering how to splint it now myself

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you get some poultry vitamins with riboflavin (vitamin B2?) Riboflavin deficiency can cause curled under toes and walking on hocks, which can progress to total lameness. But Mareks disease can cause some of the same symptoms, especially loss of balance, the legs going out in splits, and the toe curling. Tumors from Mareks on the sciatic nerve can cause the lameness. I would start the vitamins or give some chopped liver or other foods high in riboflavin, just to see if there is improvement.

 

[Jamoxam]

Hi her toes were deformed from hatch the farmer said is the legs she's sticking out that's bad?

 

[rebrascora]

@Jamoxam

Hi and welcome. I'm sorry you needed your first post to be requesting help.

Firstly, I'm not sure if you are aware but that is a he (ie a cockerel) not a she (a pullet). I'm also afraid that looks like Marek's disease, but as Eggcessive has suggested, the best thing that you can do is give supportive care with good nutrition and vitamin supplements. If he is unable to stand/walk, you could make a simple chicken sling/hammock to support him in an upright position. I will try to find some links to images of them that people have made to give you some idea of what you are aiming for. Of course, if you are unable to keep a cockerel due to local regulations, you may be best just putting him out of his misery now or finding someone who can do it for you. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh but finding good homes for healthy cockerels is difficult. If this one has Marek's, which I strongly suspect, you would be spreading disease by rehoming him.
Do you have other chickens?

 

[Jamoxam]

Hi are you positive it's a cockerel the farmer is insistent it's a pullet? Although I did think the same! I have 4 other chickens. 2 fully grown and 2 pulleys. The pullets were from a shop so hatched separately. I appreciate the need to cull. Sad but true fact of keeping chickens. Already had to put one down this year due to a prolapse.

Thank you for helping I will give the victims a go first of all and check again for a break which seems the best case scenario.

 

[rebrascora]

I'm pretty sure about the gender but you could post on the "What breed/gender" part of the forum for confirmation if no one here supports my opinion. Your fully grown chickens should be in the clear if it is Marek's Disease. It mostly affects juvenile birds. Your pullets are potentially at risk of it if they have been in contact with this bird. Do you know if they were vaccinated for Marek's? I'm not a fan of the vaccination, but in this situation it might be a blessing.

 

[Jamoxam]

Hi the place said they were fully vaccinated but didn't specify! I have separated her to be safe.

 

[Jamoxam]

Hi no improvement ... I have read various sites about th disease can she / he recover or to be blunt should I end her / his pain?