Faverolles roo with Leg issue

[Kleine Huhnchen]

He's only 12 weeks old. This issue with his right leg, (knee?) started about 2 days ago. He's eating and drinking, moving around normally doesn't seem to be in much pain other than the leg bowing out to the side. Does anyone here have any suggestions as to what might have happened, if this is genetic or possibly a proper course of treatment? We are relatively new to raising backyard chickens and have no idea if we should take him to a vet or try maybe a wrap of some sort. Any information would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Eggcessive]

I don't know that much about leg problems, but I think that it could be a.leg bone deformity called varus/valgus disorder. It can affect the hock tendon as the chick grows, sometimes causing it to rupture. You could try to give him poultry vitamins with minerals to try and stop any further damage, but it can be hereditary. This is fairly common, and most people try to let the chickens live as normal a life as possible. Here are some links to read that may give you information:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1051/leg-health-in-large-broilers/
http://www.agbiosecurity.ca/healthy...e/Valgus Varus Leg Deformities in Poultry.pdf
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/220/slipped-tendon-perosis/

 

[Kleine Huhnchen]

Thank you for the info @Eggcessive Varus sounds like a good possibility. While he is not a broiler, he has grown very rapidly and has not had much vitamin supplementation aside from what is in his feed. Thank you I will look into this possibility and not allow my veterinarian to automatically assume that it's Marek's! I'd like to keep this little guy around for a while if at all possible!

 

[Eggcessive]

A lot of poultry leg deformities are referred to as slipped tendon or perosis. There are conditions called tibial dyschondroplasia (TD,) osteochondrosis, varus/valgus,and so on--but on BYC, they are lumped into the slipped tendon category. There are hundreds of threads about the subject if you do a search at the top of this page. Here are some that may give some ideas on splinting:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/941270/slipped-tendon-that-turned-to-twisted-tibia-my-treatment
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1012720/slipped-achilles-tendon
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/366075/update-help-gosling-with-slipped-tendon

 

[Kleine Huhnchen]

@Eggcessive my first inclination when I noticed it was that it looked like a tendon issue or a joint issue. I'm going to try to supplement him with some nutri drench and wrap with Vet Wrap over the next few days. Trouble is there is no consensus on how to properly do so that I can find. I also cannot seem to tell when and if the tendon is out of place. Is there something specifically I should be feeling for? It seems from what I've read to be easy to identify but I can't seem to do so. :/

 

[Kleine Huhnchen]

I found this older thread by @Bulldogma and I'm thinking about giving it a try. Just passing it along in case anyone else may be interested.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/725391/slipped-tendon-in-pullets-hock-attempt-at-healing