Chickens get leg wobbles - then can no longer control legs??

[Giddi-Up]

Hi - I have a couple of chickes that start to get a little unsteady on their legs then it slowy gets worse till they can not walk at all then I have to cull them

- They still want to eat and drink if they can get there. I feel really bad but have no idea as to what it can be. Any ideas??

Thanks for any help,

 

[chuckzoo]

What are you feeding them? Vit B deficiency can cause leg problems.

 

[Giddi-Up]

They get scratch and growena pellets, DE, Sea Kelp, And bentonite clay, - lots of fresh water, and lettuse and bread and grapes.
My layers get lay mash - which has oster shells in it as well. They look healthy then they just start to get wobbley?? Its driving me crazy.

 

[chuckzoo]

Take a look at this;

Thiamine deficiency in poultry

As most feedstuffs used in poultry diets contain enough quantities of vitamins to meet the requirements in this species, deficiencies in this vitamin do not occur with commercial diets. This was, at least, the opinion in the 1960s.[41]

Mature chickens show signs 3 weeks after being fed a deficient diet. In young chicks, it can appear before 2 weeks of age.

Onset is sudden in young chicks. There is anorexia and an unsteady gait. Later on, there are locomotor signs, beginning with an apparent paralysis of the flexor of the toes. The characteristic position is called "stargazing", meaning a chick "sitting on its hocks and the head in opisthotonos".

Response to administration of the vitamin is rather quick, occurring a few hours later.[42][43]

Differential diagnosis include riboflavin deficiency and avian encephalomyelitis. In riboflavin deficiency, the "curled toes" is a characteristic symptom. Muscle tremor is typical of avian encephalomyelitis. A therapeutic diagnosis can be tried by supplementing thiamine only in the affected bird. If the animals do not respond in a few hours, thiamine deficiency can be excluded.

It may be possible that something you are feeding is blocking the uptake of thiamine - Vit B1

 

[Giddi-Up]

Wow - that sounds like it could be it - any Idea where I could buy this stuff??

Thanks - I will try it.
I love this site and everyones help it's great.

 

[chuckzoo]

Quote:
You could supplement B Complex Vitamins using brewers yeast. You may be able to get it at Walmart, ours no longer carries it. If you are in a part of the country where you can get Marmite (you spread it on bread) you could use that.

Be sure you are not diluting out their chicken food diet (growena pellets and layer mash) with too many additives.

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
The main diet should be the age appropriate chicken feed - scratch and treats no more than 10% of the total. What's the clay for?
Also, moldy feed, even a tiny amount, can cause neurological damage leading to eventual leg paralysis.

 

[breezes_banties_n_bratts]

could it be mereks?

 

[chuckzoo]

Oh, and I forgot stop with the bentolite clay it could be absorbing some of the nutrient chickens need;

"Bentonite Clay can also absorb some nutrients, so it's important to take it at least 1 hour before or after a meal. Don't take Bentonite Clay with vitamins or supplements at the same time. "

 

[Giddi-Up]

I did have mouldie feed late fall - I just picked out the clumps and kept right on feeding the crumble (ya i know a no no lol ) I just thought chickens eat everything that moves and does not move lol, and I lost alot more, from the ones that where inside then outside cause at least the outside ones had outside stuff. But not that I know of is there any mould in my feed now I pour everything in to plastic garbage cans and cover them. My barn is clean and dry, could this be something that was there and is just coming out now?? I am losing my mind (my husband said it was already lost lol) Their bedding is clean and dry.

thanks everyone!!