Help with two limping hens...

[Dog-Crazy Farm]

Okay, so first my California Grey hen started limping heavily on her left foot, and then she just stopped laying eggs, but she is eating fine and has a nice red crest, looks and acts normal.
But, about a week after my California Grey started limping on her left, my Rhode Island Red hen started limping on her right.
They both turned a year old in February, they free-range during the day, go in the coop at night. They live with 7 other hens. I feed them Countryside Organics Layer Feed. I just don't know whats wrong. When you pick them up they tuck their injured leg up against their body, but nothing looks or feels wrong with it. With the California Grey, I thought it might be bumblefoot, cause she had a very small scab thing on the bottom of her foot, but in a week it hasn't worsened at all. And the Rhode Island Red's foot looks fine. Is it possible, that they stopped laying because they're unhappy being locked up in the coop all day (I've kept them shut in since they started limping)? Any ideas? I am at my wit's end here, I've spent hours on the internet researching and can't seem to figure out what the problem is. Hopefully someone knows what could be wrong.....

 

[realsis]

if it were one limping id say maybe a bruise you cant see but since others are starting to limp too i urge you to take them to a avain vet and have them tested for mareks disease
i really hope this is not the case in your situation but im so sorry to say it could be a first sign. this is just to rule it out. its important you know. if no mareks than thats wonderful! but get a test so you know for sure. before i posted here i did some reading and it surely could be mareks espiecally if others are limping as well
get the test done to rule this out
. i really hope its something else but for a piece of mind please run a test. i wish only the best for you and pray the test is negative! but it needs to be done to rule it out. once its ruled out maybe the vet can also help with the limping. i hope all goes well! this is just a possiability, it is to be safe and to rule out mareks. hopefully its something else entirely but to rule it out do get a test. good luck and God bless.

 

[seminolewind]

I agree with Realsis. Two limping hens. I was treating a hen once for a broken leg. A 6 week old chick appeared to have a broken leg, so I splinted that too. Then a 3rd chick broke her leg. But they weren't broken on any of them.

Where did all your chickens come from, and have you gotten any new chickens in the past few months?

 

[Dog-Crazy Farm]

Mareks, you think? Well, thats a terrifying thought. My California Grey started limping after I caught my little brother chasing her (or so I thought), but now with my Rhode Island Red... She has been seeming to molt for the past two months...lost a bunch of feathers on her stomach that haven't come back and now she looks, like frizzy. All her feathers a standing out and look ruffled. I though mites or lice, but can't seem to find any on her, though I have dusted the whole flock with DE a couple times recently.
I DID get 5 chicks from, I believe (my cousin gave them to me), from Welp Hatchery about two weeks ago. I also got 4 chicks from a small farm where I get my chicken food from about a month ago. But they have been inside and not around my adult hens. My original flock is from Strombergs. So, I would think they would've been vaccinated, though don't know for sure because another one of my cousins gave those to me.
Around how much would a Mareks test cost? My neighbors are always adding adult chickens to their flock and they could come right up to the chain-link fence and get close to my chickens. Actually, about two months ago one of their hens came over here like five times though I kept putting it back over the fence.
Oh, also, I went to take care of my youngest chicks this morning - they needed cleaned so I put them in a big container. One of them started rolling around on its back, which is odd cause they were on paper towels, so its not like she was dust-bathing or anything. And then another one started rolling around on its back and then tried like five times to stand up and couldn't. She seemed sort of dizzy and when I picked her up she was shaking, but then I cleaned the cage and put them all back in it and after she ate and drank she was fine. Thought they all have been going to the bathroom sort of runny today. I have the younger and the older chicks together in a small kitty pool.
My adult hens are all going to the bathroom normal, and the 7 hens that aren't limping are all laying nice, perfect eggs.
Oh..sorry for the loong post, I'm just so worried! I finally decide to expand my flock and everything goes downhill. And they're my babies - my California Grey and my Rhode Island Red aka Lilac and Snapdragon are two of my three friendliest girls. Is it possible it could be worms or something else?

 

[seminolewind]

I'm sorry, it does not sound good. It's hard to diagnose on the web, but with 2 hens and 2 chicks potentially having problems walking, it does sound like Marek's. But I would rule out vitamins first. Is it the 4 week olds that are rolling around or the 2 week olds?

It's unusual but possible to show Marek's at 2-4 weeks. It usually shows up at 6 weeks and up. But different strains now days and immune system status have changed how early, how late, or what the symptoms are from what we know.

Keep updating, please

 

[Dog-Crazy Farm]

It's the two week olds that were rolling around, though they're probably more like three weeks because they were starting to get feathers when I got them. But they've seemed fine today, though they still seem to have diarrhea. Actually, I spent this afternoon treating Lilac (California Grey) for bumblefoot, so hopefully that was her problem. But the fact that she layed only one egg today for the first time in two weeks still concerns me. And Snapdragon (Rhode Island Red) still seems real weird. Same as before - ruffled feathers, no eggs, and she just lays around all day. Plus a couple time today in looked like she was starting to do a split with her legs, but maybe that was just my imagination.