Help! Adult hen paralyzed - can’t identify leg wounds

LBradyAtX

Chirping
5 Years
Nov 11, 2015
16
6
69
Austin, Texas
Hello! I need help identifying the issue with my pet chicken’s paralyzed leg; hoping someone recognizes the problem from the attached photos and can advise.

BACKGROUND
Last week I found our sweet Willow lame in her coop. She has lost the use of her left leg entirely. For the last 7 days, I have isolated her in our garage “hospital” attempting various treatments. While her mood and overall health appear stable, her leg is not recovering. I also noticed what appears to be a type of wound, or lesion around her knee hock joint that I’m not familiar with - and her entire leg has more dark spots than I recall being there. The lesions are pitted, slightly swollen, dark in color and there’s some scale bleeding - but that could be from her pecking at it, which I’ve caught her doing. I can’t tell if they’re the cause of the lameness, or a symptom from it.

Bottoms of feet are clean & have no sores or wounds. Scales appear raised, dry and dark, but I’m not familiar with scaly leg mites enough to know if this is the issue. Doesn’t look like my past experience with Bumblefoot. No visible lice - but I know mites can be tricky to always spot! When I talk to her she stands for me, but doesn’t put any weight on her foot. Toes are mostly curled, and she seems genuinely confused and frustrated that she cant

Breed: Whiting True Green hen
Age: 3 yrs
Weight: normal
Appetite: normal
Comb: healthy, normal
Environment: Lives in huge coop & enclosed run with her 6 adopted sisters. High quality feed. No fighting. All other hens healthy. Hand raised, vaccinated against Mareks

TREATMENT
- Isolation, comfortable bedding, heat lamp to maintain 80-90 degrees.
- tylan 50 first 2 days, as she felt warm to touch. I’ve not given tylan past 4 days
- electrolytes, Rooster Booster vitamins daily (to ensure it’s not a vitamin deficiency)
- she’s eating lots of wet cat food and scrambled eggs. Appetite is great.
- legs kept clean and dry, and areas of concern sprayed with antibacterial treatment.

today I set up her peck n play tent and have her enjoying some fresh sun, as I got concerned too long in the garage could lead to vitamin d issue. She seems ok other than not able to stand or walk. Issue seems to be from the possible wounds around her hock joint. If anyone recognizes the issue from the photo, I’m desperate for more information.
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First thing I noticed is those toenails. Those are long! I can't imagine she could walk comfortably on those! I would suggest clipping them with dog nail clippers, or person nail clippers will work as well. Clip them until they are a little longer then this-
1618094583116.png

Then, use a nail file to file them the rest of the way, so you don't accidentally make them bleed.
After that, tell us how she is walking. I would also treat for scaly leg mites. To do this, smother her legs in a thick layer of Vaseline. Try to get the Vaseline under the scales, and repeat this every few days. I would treat the rest of the flock for scaly leg mites as well.
 
Have you brought any new to you birds home in the last few months?

You cannot use antibiotics willy-nilly... If you're going to use it you need to give a full course. 2 days is willy-nilly.
 
First thing I noticed is those toenails. Those are long! I can't imagine she could walk comfortably on those! I would suggest clipping them with dog nail clippers, or person nail clippers will work as well. Clip them until they are a little longer then this-
View attachment 2609271
Then, use a nail file to file them the rest of the way, so you don't accidentally make them bleed.
After that, tell us how she is walking. I would also treat for scaly leg mites. To do this, smother her legs in a thick layer of Vaseline. Try to get the Vaseline under the scales, and repeat this every few days. I would treat the rest of the flock for scaly leg mites as well.
Thank you!!! I’ve been keeping chickens as pets for about 6 years and I had no idea you could/should trim their nails!
I’ll definitely do that ASAP, carefully at first.
I’ll treat for scaly leg mites using Vaseline. I had ordered some spray specifically for birds but wasnt sure what I was dealing with.

Have you ever seen the sores like that before? She’s definitely unable to move/use the left leg at all. I’ve been massaging the feet to keep them from atrophy and flexing them a little. That seems to be helping but she won’t put weight on it.
 
I'm not sure about that swelling at the top of her leg though. I'll tag some experts and see what they say, but maybe its the result of a possible sprain? Is that area warm to the touch? @Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock @azygous what are you thinking?
It was very warm at first, which improved after 2 days of tylan. Not sure if I should try some otc baby aspirin? On day 1 her comb was darker, almost purple, but I think she got herself worked up and scared trying to walk. After vitamins and isolation, comb is back to a healthy red. Eyes are clear. She’s very talkative. I’m googling what is safe for birds re: fever treatment, but don’t want to do anything that could hurt her.
 
Thank you!!! I’ve been keeping chickens as pets for about 6 years and I had no idea you could/should trim their nails!
Most of the time you don't. My hens nails don't need to be trimmed, but some hens nails just get long. Usually a chickens scratching behavior in the dirt allows them to file the nail and keep them short, but some times older hens, (3 really isn't that old, but every hen is different) have a harder time filing them naturally.
 
Have you brought any new to you birds home in the last few months?

You cannot use antibiotics willy-nilly... If you're going to use it you need to give a full course. 2 days is willy-nilly.
No new birds. The 7 we have now are all between the ages of 1+ to 5yrs. All from same hatchery, no health issues in others.
 
Have you ever seen the sores like that before? She’s definitely unable to move/use the left leg at all. I’ve been massaging the feet to keep them from atrophy and flexing them a little. That seems to be helping but she won’t put weight on it.
If she isn't putting weight on it, it could be a sprain or something she did to it. Are you sure it was the Tylan or the isolation that brought the heat down? Like said above, giving antibiotics for a short period of time isn't going to do anything. You need to do a full cycle, so I think that getting weight off her foot, and chilling out for a few days was what helped the leg.

So, when you say she can't move the leg, do you mean that she wont even hold it off the ground when she walks, she just drags it, or does she lift it, and hop around with it. Will she flinch the leg at all, or is it completely immobile? Can you get a video of exactly what you mean by, paralyzed? Maybe get her trying to walk or move around. That will help us a bunch if we can figure out exactly what is going on. That will separate a sprain, from a are serious disease that is causing paralysis.
To upload a video, post it to Youtube or another video platform, then post the link here.
 
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Most of the time you don't. My hens nails don't need to be trimmed, but some hens nails just get long. Usually a chickens scratching behavior in the dirt allows them to file the nail and keep them short, but some times older hens, (3 really isn't that old, but every hen is different) have a harder time filing them naturally.
Yeah I just went snd checked the others and everyone else’s nails look short like the photo you shared. Of course, they’re all different breeds, but that’s interesting hers are so long! The enclosed run has lots of levels and ladders. The enclosed run is 12x12 and she’s one of the more active birds. Always jumping up the various roosts and platforms. Maybe she injured it.

She laid an egg the day I found her, but hasn’t laid since. I assumed she was too stressed
 

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