Chickens keep breaking legs

[mego21]

I went out to my coop this morning and found a SECOND chicken with a broken leg! Am I feeding something wrong? Is there something I should be adding to increase bone strength?

The first chicken (black Cochin) I had to euthanize because the break was so high up that a splint was ineffective and she could not even lift her body off the ground.

My buff Orpington is walking but with a very serious limp. I will splint it and have her in a small enclosure so she doesn't have to move about. Any other suggestions as far as feed goes for making sure my chickens don't break any more legs??

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You'll need to tell us what you are feeding now. Not just type of feed but all other feedstuffs you are providing.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

You'll need to tell us what you are feeding now. Not just type of feed but all other feedstuffs you are providing.

X 2 - in addition to some other information such as what your coop floor is made of and bedded with, how high up the roosts and nest boxes (and other launching places) are from the floor, what sort of space is available for them to make controlled descents from those places to the floor, whether your setup is such that it is possible they have become entangled in something by the leg and broken it in their attempts to become free - or that a reaching predator could have gotten a grip on them and caused the break that way, etc. Were they found on the coop floor first thing in the morning with the injury or at different time throughout the day? There are a LOT of things that *could* be going on here to cause the problem - it's impossible to advise on how to fix it and prevent further injury without pinpointing what the cause is.

 

[mego21]

First off, there are 4 ducks and 5 chickens (2 Cochins and 3 buff orpingtons). All purchased from an auction (which was probably my first mistake). The Cochins are about 16 weeks old and the buffs are about 12 weeks old. They are all housed in an 8 ft tall a-frame coop with a 8 ft by 12 ft covered run. Their roosts are 2 ft off the ground with a ramp for them to climb up to the roost.

They free range through the day. They all started off with a chick/duck starter. They now currently have constant access to a duck grower (the guy at the feed store said it was fine to feed duck instead of chicken??) they also have access to grit. I feed them scraps from the table occasionally, like a bit of yogurt, egg shells, etc.

I also have two Cochins who have had eye problems (no puss leaking or anything, just a swollen or closed eye).

I have done some research last night and am now very concerned that my flock has mareks disease. I was never able to find a specific "break" in either of my chickens legs, it just seems that they simply loose the use of it. For my Cochin (who I eventually had to put down ) she couldn't use her leg at all. I thought it was a break and so I splinted the one leg. Then suddenly she lost the use of her other leg and had "split legs". For the one that I discovered yesterday I cannot for the life of me find a break in the bone anywhere. It just seems that her leg isn't working properly.

I am feeling very disheartened and frustrated. I have many friends who raise chickens and have never had a problem like this in their whole chicken experience. If my flock does have mareks it seems that we will be cursed with it for the rest of eternity. Sorry for the dramatics. I have just loved having chickens, except I can't seem to keep my flock healthy. Between the swollen and deformed eyes and the gimpy legs I just don't know what to do.

My ducks are happy, healthy and strong. Maybe I should just stick to ducks lol...

Any suggestions would be happily appreciated,

Thanks for your time,

Megan

 

[mego21]

** I also forgot to mention how I found them **

With the Cochin, i had noticed one day that her leg seemed to be giving her trouble throughout the day. It would occasionally just "jut out". The next morning I found her and she had completely lost the use of the leg all together. About 4-5 days later and her other leg was not seeming or work either. At this point we euthanized her.

With my buff, I noticed her hopping a little bit oddly the two days ago. Then I went out to the coop yesterday morning and found that she was limping a great deal and sometimes using her wing for balance. I will check her again this morning and update afterwards.

 

[Eggcessive]

It does sound like you may have chickens with Mareks, but a necropsy by your state vet could answer that question. Mareks can stay in your environment from dust and dander for many years. Any chicks that you get in the future must be vaccinated as day old chicks at the hatchery, then kept away from any area or carrier birds for 2 weeks minimum to achieve immunity to the disease. There is a good link to read called The Great big Mareks Faq if you enter Mareks in the search at the top of this page.

 

[mego21]

Thank you eggcessive!! I was able to find that link and found it very helpful (and very disappointing to imagine that my little flock has been exposed). One of my chickens who is having a very difficult time with her eye is set to be euthanized on Monday with a necropsy to follow.

I wasn't able to find much info in that article about the possible recovery rate of chickens who have reached the stage of leg paralysis? Maybe I would be better off to send in my hen with the leg issue for the necropsy. I do wish I had thought of mareks when my first hen died, so I could just get a necropsy on her but I just assumed it was a broken leg

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It does sound like you may have chickens with Mareks, but a necropsy by your state vet could answer that question. Mareks can stay in your environment from dust and dander for many years. Any chicks that you get in the future must be vaccinated as day old chicks at the hatchery, then kept away from any area or carrier birds for 2 weeks minimum to achieve immunity to the disease. There is a good link to read called The Great big Mareks Faq if you enter Mareks in the search at the top of this page.

X2

Thank you eggcessive!! I was able to find that link and found it very helpful (and very disappointing to imagine that my little flock has been exposed). One of my chickens who is having a very difficult time with her eye is set to be euthanized on Monday with a necropsy to follow.

I wasn't able to find much info in that article about the possible recovery rate of chickens who have reached the stage of leg paralysis? Maybe I would be better off to send in my hen with the leg issue for the necropsy. I do wish I had thought of mareks when my first hen died, so I could just get a necropsy on her but I just assumed it was a broken leg

I'm sorry I didn't consider Marek's when you said broken leg but the leg trouble and leg jutting out symptom and the eye problems do indicate Mareks is likely.
There is no cure so any recovery rate would be miniscule.
Good move on getting a necropsy. Do you know how to send the bird to the lab or are you hand carrying it?

 

[mego21]

No. I actually live in Canada, Alberta. My province pays for the necropsy completely an handles all the shipping. I am just asked to bring my bird in to a facility to be euthanized and then they will ship it to the provinces location where necropsy share performed.

Thank you for your help. I noticed in the mareks forum that virkon s is a good thing to use for bio security and cleaning. I am planning to clean everything as best I can each week to try and keep down the spread (I only have two chickens left that are not showing symptoms ). In Canada I have only been able to find a tablet form. Is this the same as the powdered form? A little confused... http://www.amazon.ca/VIRKON-DISNFCT-TABLETS-50S-GRAM/dp/B0088OKF1E

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I can't answer that.
Marek's is pretty much everywhere. Your birds may be resistant or not.
Many strains are resistant so it's best to raise from resistant birds.