One of our girls has a foot that isn't working right. Her claws curl up and she stumbles when she walks. She can make is flat again when she stops but the second she starts to walk she almost falls. She can use her leg with the claws closed and it just looks like she is missing her claws. She is up, socializing with the other girls, eating and drinking. Does anyone know what this could be? I have a video but don't know how to post it. I'm on my iPad and if someone could explain to me how to post it i would like to share it. Thanks.
Chicken's foot not working right......please help
- Thread starter keliguyer
- Start date
It sounds like it could be marek's. google it and see if the symptom matches your girl. Good luck.
- Thread starter
- #3
- Dec 17, 2011
- 143
- 16
- 91
Hi there,
I had a little Sebright bantam die of this exact same thing over the summer. She seemed ok one day, then soon her foot curled up and she couldn't walk on it. She still got around ok for a couple weeks, but then she started to get weaker and thinner, so we put her down. She clearly would have died on her own otherwise. Other than the foot she did not seem sick.
None of my other chickens got sick. I have 40 others, so I too was really worried it would decimate my flock, but it didn't.
I had a little Sebright bantam die of this exact same thing over the summer. She seemed ok one day, then soon her foot curled up and she couldn't walk on it. She still got around ok for a couple weeks, but then she started to get weaker and thinner, so we put her down. She clearly would have died on her own otherwise. Other than the foot she did not seem sick.
None of my other chickens got sick. I have 40 others, so I too was really worried it would decimate my flock, but it didn't.
- Thread starter
- #5
Thanks for you reply
We started with twenty and are down to 14. These are our first chickens and we have had them since oct 1st. We lost the first 5 in the first month. They were fine then would just die. We found lots of round worms in the 5th one that die so we treated all for worms. All started to grow and do awesome. A week or so ago one of our littlest ones started to look sick. 2 day ago I brought her in. She looked drunk when she would walk. She started to lose her feathers under her wings, only laid down with one foot out, pooped runny white poop with small green pieces, and looked really weak. She passed today. This afternoon we went to check on the girls and all came runny up except our messed up foot one. She finally got up and came flying up wanting food. She is our "wildest" chicken. In the way that she is super hard to catch even in the coop. Even with her foot it was hard to get her. I'm worried it is mareks. That is why I was asking about the time line. Woundering in this could have been the reason we lost the others too.
We started with twenty and are down to 14. These are our first chickens and we have had them since oct 1st. We lost the first 5 in the first month. They were fine then would just die. We found lots of round worms in the 5th one that die so we treated all for worms. All started to grow and do awesome. A week or so ago one of our littlest ones started to look sick. 2 day ago I brought her in. She looked drunk when she would walk. She started to lose her feathers under her wings, only laid down with one foot out, pooped runny white poop with small green pieces, and looked really weak. She passed today. This afternoon we went to check on the girls and all came runny up except our messed up foot one. She finally got up and came flying up wanting food. She is our "wildest" chicken. In the way that she is super hard to catch even in the coop. Even with her foot it was hard to get her. I'm worried it is mareks. That is why I was asking about the time line. Woundering in this could have been the reason we lost the others too.
You started with 20 and now you have 14, where did you get them?
- Thread starter
- #7
A local place called blue star ranch. They sell 10 to 20 week old chickens. I found them on line and the website look good and they seemed well informed and knew what they were talking about so we went with them. So many told us it would cost more to start them from day old chicks so we decided to get them at 12 weeks old.
When we lost the first 4 I talked with a poultry dr from Texas A and M and he said from what I was telling him he thought avian pox. I thought mareks after the first 2 but he said it didn't sounds like that. The one we lost today was the first one we lost in almost more then a month. 3 days after we brought them home is when we notice the problems. The place has a 24 hour replacement policy and I learned after when I called that they don't offer advise unless you pay a $24.99 fee for every 30 mins of phone time.
When we lost the first 4 I talked with a poultry dr from Texas A and M and he said from what I was telling him he thought avian pox. I thought mareks after the first 2 but he said it didn't sounds like that. The one we lost today was the first one we lost in almost more then a month. 3 days after we brought them home is when we notice the problems. The place has a 24 hour replacement policy and I learned after when I called that they don't offer advise unless you pay a $24.99 fee for every 30 mins of phone time.
Marek's is a good possibility. Marek's symptoms are not cut and dry . It can be any symptoms, or none at all. The ones they list in books are the most identifyable
"If" it's Marek's, some will survive but always be carriers. So you would need to protect any new chickens. Get day old chicks from a hatchery that are vaccinated and keep them quarantined for 2-10 weeeks. At least it's a way to prevent any new ones from dying.
But I hope it's not Marek's, but at that age and with your flock history, it might be. If you want to know, you'll have to send a dead chicken to a state animal disease laboratory for a necropsy.
"If" it's Marek's, some will survive but always be carriers. So you would need to protect any new chickens. Get day old chicks from a hatchery that are vaccinated and keep them quarantined for 2-10 weeeks. At least it's a way to prevent any new ones from dying.
But I hope it's not Marek's, but at that age and with your flock history, it might be. If you want to know, you'll have to send a dead chicken to a state animal disease laboratory for a necropsy.
- Thread starter
- #9
I lost three chickens to Marek's last year and they all died 'differently.' One was sick for months and would go up and down. One literally died over night--her abdomen completely filled with fluid and she was dead by morning. The third lost the ability to walk but stayed alive for a week and had to have food put right by her all the time. I had her put down because she was suffering badly and it was going to lead to death anyway. She started with just a limp and then it got worse and worse, until she couldn't walk and the leg just seemed paralyzed. It's a nasty disease.
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