Help! Chicken Can't Walk! Can't Use Left Leg!

[Chickengal505]

Are the tips turning bule or discolored? Look like the tissue dieing?

 

[karma]

This is exactly what my chicken did for a month. Did not use left leg-would fall over and flap wings-got weak and i had to force feed. She then began to hold the leg straight out behind her. After over a month of her not getting better despite everything i tried, i looked at the pictures of a chicken with Marek's on the veterinary manual on this site and the typical position of a chicken with marek's-one leg back one forward was exactly how she was now laying. I made the decision to cull and shipped her to Ca agric. at Davis for a necropsy. Haven't heard back yet-was shipped thursday. Will let the board know when i find out.

 

[babsbag]

I too live in CA and lost one to what the lab said was "suspected Marek's". He didn't have the classic leg positioning, but she couldn't walk, wouldn't eat or drink, and went into trances where I thought she was dead. I babied her for 3 weeks before she died. None of my other birds show any signs, and it has been about 3 months.

Campine Lover, if you lose your hen you can have her sent to a lab in Davis and have a necropsy done to see why she died. It is free of charge, all you have to do is take her there, or have your vet ship her using their transport service. That will at least let you know what to watch for in the rest of your flock. There will be a small fee for transport if you use your vet. Mine charged me 25.00 from Redding.

I'm sorry she is sick. It is so hard to know how to treat them. I did vitamins, electrolytes, yogurt, force feeding, scrampled eggs, baby food fruit, and just about everything else a chicken might like. I kept hoping it would go away.

I am still not convinced it was Marek's. So far no one else is sick, and I have a closed flock, and no chickens real close by. I am running a risk by not vaccinating, but I think that in the long run that breeds stronger birds.

Good luck, and I hope she gets better.

 

[Dora'smom]

It can be so hard to know what to do. One of my RIR's was sick with what appeared to be Marek's symptoms when she was a young bird--probably a couple of months old. I discussed symptoms with a variety of chicken experts, including a 4H leader who is very experienced with poultry. She told me it was probably Marek's and that I should cull the bird, and maybe my whole little flock of six. I had already researched the symptoms online and in the Gail Damerow Chicken (or maybe Poultry?) Health book before I started asking people. I called around a little more, and one of the chicken experts that frequent The Urban Farm Store in Portland told me to use electrolytes in the water, and which antibiotic they recommended using at which dosage, and my chick did pull through. She has been fine ever since, and none of the other birds in her flock developed any symptoms at all. She is feisty and an excellent layer at one year of age. She had the classic, one-legged weakness, followed by seeming paralysis of that leg, and moving around very awkwardly with her wings flailing on the ground for balance. I still don't know what it was, but she was able to heal.
I don't know what the future holds for your girl, but please check in with an avian vet, if you can, and pursue any source of information you feel trustworthy. If you do have to cull, you will know that you gave her every chance you could. Unfortunately this is part of providing for animals in our care. Good luck with your girl, and let us know how things go.

 

[Campine Lover]

Karma,
Missy's (name of chicken) legs are sometimes stuck out behind her, too, especially when I pick her up...... If she does pass, heaven forbid, I will try to get her to Davis. Thanks everyone! Still not sure it's Marek's....

 

[MissCluck]

If you can find the names of any large animal vets they may see a chicken. Mine did and helped my Agatha with her inner ear infection. Just smile at the folks who think you are strange for taking a chicken to a doctor...we all know how special our hen friends are!

What you describe on your chicken does sound like Marek's.

So sorry.

 

[riversanctuary]

I spent over 200.00 on my chicken who has trouble walking on her right leg. She has a huge appetite and drinks. Her dropping look normal, but I have to help her forage because she can't scratch she usually lifts the leg up. Cries out when she sits and it's hard for her to get back up. The vet after taking X-rays and manipulating her leg, he said they were strong, couldn't find anything. I was disappointed, but I am giving her some more time. If she gets to the place where she doesn't get up I will take her to the vet to have her euthanized anyone have this problem?