German New Hampshire

[immyjay54]

I can so relate. Although I'm not doing any shipping, I do have many different age groups in different pens and I just hatched a batch of delawares and columbian rocks this weekend. I have 3 different age groups with my New Hampshires and it's looking like my last batch was mostly roos. I think I'd like to hatch one more batch but I think I'll wait for a broody hen and let her do all the work next time.

Hey Ben, that doctor's appointment is still open. ha,ha
Jim

 

[Chris Herzog]

OK, I have a bird with a problem (a GNH) and so now I have some questions for you all.

My oldest roo who is not quite a year old and the one that I like the best developed a problem with his right foot. I have no idea what he did or how he did it but it’s defiantly bothering him. There has been no swelling and no cuts and compared to his good foot/leg everything looks fine but he will not put his foot flat on the ground. When he steps he put his weight on his toes but holds the ball of his foot off the ground. If I hold him up and put presser on the ball of his good foot he doesn’t mind but he does not like it at all on his bad foot. When standing still he stands most of the times on his good leg holding the bad leg up off the ground.

Right after I found him limping, I separated him from everyone else and put him in one of my larger grow out pens by himself to see if his foot would get better with rest. It’s been about a month now and there has been no change. He limps just as bad now as he did a month ago. I put a hen in with him the other day to see if he could still be used as a breeder and he could not mount the hen with his foot like it is.

This is very frustrating to me because I’m torn between giving him more time because he is my best all around type roo, or doing the humane thing and putting him down right away. Other than the limp he does not look to be in pain but how does one really know anyway…any thoughts?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[CC1892]

Chris, I do not have an answer for you, but before you take drastic action
maybe the answer to your problem could be found in this link.
It is a huge website loaded with information.

Good Luck
Cecilia

https://sites.google.com/a/larsencreek.com/chicken-orthopedics/

Please stay in touch, and let us know who this works out.

 

[fowlman01]

OK, I have a bird with a problem (a GNH) and so now I have some questions for you all.

My oldest roo who is not quite a year old and the one that I like the best developed a problem with his right foot. I have no idea what he did or how he did it but it’s defiantly bothering him. There has been no swelling and no cuts and compared to his good foot/leg everything looks fine but he will not put his foot flat on the ground. When he steps he put his weight on his toes but holds the ball of his foot off the ground. If I hold him up and put presser on the ball of his good foot he doesn’t mind but he does not like it at all on his bad foot. When standing still he stands most of the times on his good leg holding the bad leg up off the ground.

Right after I found him limping, I separated him from everyone else and put him in one of my larger grow out pens by himself to see if his foot would get better with rest. It’s been about a month now and there has been no change. He limps just as bad now as he did a month ago. I put a hen in with him the other day to see if he could still be used as a breeder and he could not mount the hen with his foot like it is.

This is very frustrating to me because I’m torn between giving him more time because he is my best all around type roo, or doing the humane thing and putting him down right away. Other than the limp he does not look to be in pain but how does one really know anyway…any thoughts?

Thanks,
Chris

The symptoms are the same as Mareks disease and the age is right. Many times when a chicken develops a limp that is not caused by an injury, it has Mareks.......even if it has been vaccinated for it. Everything else will appear normal until the other leg goes or some other symptom develops. I am not saying that is what is causing the limp, but Mareks is very common and that is one of the symptoms.

Walt

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Sorry to hear that Chris. I do hope he will be ok. I assume you have already checked for bumble foot?

 

[Chris Herzog]

The symptoms are the same as Mareks disease and the age is right. Many times when a chicken develops a limp that is not caused by an injury, it has Mareks.......even if it has been vaccinated for it. Everything else will appear normal until the other leg goes or some other symptom develops. I am not saying that is what is causing the limp, but Mareks is very common and that is one of the symptoms.

Walt

Walt,

Would anything like Mareks or anything else that would cause this behavior have shown up while doing NPIP testing? I ask because this bird was NPIP tested about 2 to 2 1/2 months ago. He also looks great, healthy and shiny and very alert crowing like normal Also I have 9 other birds close in age to this bird with the problem, and 16 birds in a pen within the coop that this bird is in (next to in fact) and all of them look fine. He does not look depressed or sick to me at all in any way other than the limp.

The other thing that I want to point out is that aside from there being no swelling I keep leaning towards skeletal because he uses the leg but holds his claws down to keep his heal up off the ground like maybe he bruised or broke something in his heal. I was under the impression that a Mareks infected bird would basically have no control of his leg or legs. This is defiantly not the case with this bird.

Chris

 

[Chris Herzog]

Sorry to hear that Chris. I do hope he will be ok. I assume you have already checked for bumble foot?

Thanks,
Yes I looked and there is no swelling at all anywhere. I actually held him while my wife (a Vet) looked and compared both legs and feet to each other and we couldn’t see anything. He also lives on sand and has plenty of pine bedding in his coop with wide perches.

Chris

 

[fowlman01]

Walt,



Would anything like Mareks or anything else that would cause this behavior have shown up while doing NPIP testing? I ask because this bird was NPIP tested about 2 to 2 1/2 months ago. He also looks great, healthy and shiny and very alert crowing like normal Also I have 9 other birds close in age to this bird with the problem, and 16 birds in a pen within the coop that this bird is in (next to in fact) and all of them look fine. He does not look depressed or sick to me at all in any way other than the limp.



The other thing that I want to point out is that aside from there being no swelling I keep leaning towards skeletal because he uses the leg but holds his claws down to keep his heal up off the ground like maybe he bruised or broke something in his heal. I was under the impression that a Mareks infected bird would basically have no control of his leg or legs. This is defiantly not the case with this bird.



Chris

Most birds exposed to Mareks don't get it, they fight it off, but it is a common problem that is mis diagnosed as an injury, pulled tendon etc. Not saying that can't happen, but it doesn't happen as often as folks like to think and Mareks disease is more often the cause of the limp. You will know as time progresses. If it has Mareks it will slowly fade away.....sometimes very slowly. You will know if you have to euthanize it well before it suffers unduly. There is no need to anything right now. See how the bird does and lets hope it was a mechanical injury of some sort.

NPIP testing would not find it.

Walt

 

[catdaddyfro]

Most birds exposed to Mareks don't get it, they fight it off, but it is a common problem that is mis diagnosed as an injury, pulled tendon etc. Not saying that can't happen, but it doesn't happen as often as folks like to think and Mareks disease is more often the cause of the limp. You will know as time progresses. If it has Mareks it will slowly fade away.....sometimes very slowly. You will know if you have to euthanize it well before it suffers unduly. There is no need to anything right now. See how the bird does and lets hope it was a mechanical injury of some sort.

NPIP testing would not find it.

Walt

Yes and another thing to look for is his droppings. If they appear dark green it is pobably Mareks, This is because of the problems it causes in the liver/gall bladder so the green feces is a bile problem, unless he is feed a sole ration of corn/chops only, this too can cause green droppings . If he has them and the limp it is a sign of Mareks setting in and as Walt says they will most of the time eventually waste away slowly,(some will amazingly recover-very few though) even if they still yet have a voracious appetite. Look at the comb too and see if it is starting to shrink and get waxy , loose its red tint or start getting a purple hue starting at the tips first.

 

[banjoejoe4783]

chirs most birds develop an amunity to mareks by the age of 5 mounths you can reserch mereks and read about the desese it is also know as the cripiling desese most birds will only show slite semtons and fight it off others will develup a limp or droped wing and "may or may not " live a normal life even with a slite limp studys show that mareks is spread by bird dander and can be spreed by the wind over 4 milles even birds that show no sines can be carryers for mareks this is why you should always keep your young birds away from your adults untill they are over 5 mounths of age i hope he just has an injury of some kind and with him beening almost a year old he should have allready developed an aminity to the desese but may have not i wish you the best of luck

BANJO