Curled in toes

[jillyjilly]

I noticed my hen limping two nights ago and now her toes are curled in and can’t walk. One leg seems to be worse than the other. She’s eating, drinking, and has laid two eggs. I have her separated from the rest of the flock in a medium sized dog crate to keep her calm. Any ideas what could be causing her legs to be like this?

 

[50-45-1]

Could be vitamin deficiency.
Do you have Nutri-drench?
I would put a drop down her throat once a day.

 

[Eggcessive]

Instead of NutriDrench which does not have riboflavin, I would use 1/2 tablet of human B complex daily. It could be a riboflavin deficiency, but sometimes Mareks disease could be the problem.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I noticed my hen limping two nights ago and now her toes are curled in and can’t walk. One leg seems to be worse than the other. She’s eating, drinking, and has laid two eggs. I have her separated from the rest of the flock in a medium sized dog crate to keep her calm. Any ideas what could be causing her legs to be like this?

What do you feed, including treats?

I agree, I'd begin giving her B-Complex asap to see if it helps.

 

[jillyjilly]

I found liquid B complex and started giving it to her. Thank you for the advice! I hope it helps her.

Instead of NutriDrench which does not have riboflavin, I would use 1/2 tablet of human B complex daily. It could be a riboflavin deficiency, but sometimes Mareks disease could be the problem.

 

[jillyjilly]

What do you feed, including treats?

I agree, I'd begin giving her B-Complex asap to see if it helps.

I feed the NatureWise layer feed and they get the grubbly dried grubs and NatureWise protein scratch grains as a snack. Found some liquid B complex and started her on that today

 

[jillyjilly]

I do have this! I gave her some along with liquid B complex

Could be vitamin deficiency.
Do you have Nutri-drench?
I would put a drop down her throat once a day.View attachment 3664149

 

[Eggcessive]

Let us know if it helps, and how she gets along.

 

[jillyjilly]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. Unfortunately the poor lady got worse and worse where she couldn’t move her legs at all. It was like she became paralyzed. She eventually passed. I hope my other birds stay healthy. I am new to the chicken world so learning every day.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. It sounds like she could have died of Mareks disease. A necropsy by the state vet is the best way to get a diagnosis. If you have another chicken with similar symptoms, I would get a necropsy by contacting the vet on this list for your state:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html
I had forgotten to welcome you to BYC earlier.
Here is some reading about Mareks disease:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/