Hen losing ability to walk on feet - walking on “elbows”

[FrankiesFamFarm]

Hi - seeking advice. We have a hen who can no longer walk upright on feet and is now walking on “elbows”. Almost like legs are becoming paralyzed. What is causing this? Coop is clean. Healthy food. Free range. Water changed daily. Flock was vaccinated at birth.

Any advice would be helpful.

 

[Eggcessive]

How old is the hen? What are you feeding? That could be a symptom of riboflavin (b2) deficiency. I would get some human super b complex at your vitamin store or Walmart, Walgreens, etc, and give her 1/2 tablet daily. Crush it into a spoonful of water or food, or give it orally into her beak. Could she have been injured? Was she vaccinated for Mareks as a chick? Have you added any new birds recently?

 

[FrankiesFamFarm]

Hen is just 6 months old. They eat a purina product layer pellet - I’ll need to check in the morning. They’ve been vaccinated. Others have been added but also vaccinated and same hatchery. Not injured. I believe an illness. Ok on super b. Will get tmro thank you

 

[Eggcessive]

I would treat with the b complex for a couple of weeks. I really hope you see some improvement in a few days. Make sure that she can reach food and water, and encourage her to eat and drink. Moisten some of her feed, and offer water often.

 

[FrankiesFamFarm]

Thanks for your advice. What is the best/healthiest chicken feed in your opinion?

 

[Eggcessive]

I have always fed Purina layer or all flock feed. Around here, it is the freshest feed. At times I have tried Nutrena products as well. They seem to be well balanced and have a crumble or pellet that is uniform. Look for the manufacturing date on the top of the bag, and always buy fresh.

 

[MandS]

I have exactly the same problem with one of my hens and it happens about every 3 weeks now. I have done all the vitamins but found the one thing that makes a difference is giving her tuna.

I give her a teaspoon of tuna in springwater ( not in brine or oil) and within a day or so she's back on her feet again. So for me it look like a protein deficiency.

I have a thread on this somewhere but as I'm on my phone and currently cleaning out the coop, I can't find it right now. Her name is Nella if you do a search in my posts.

I think the reason why mine does it is because she isn't eating properly and she is very old, so once she goes back into the run with the others, I don't think she gets enough food and it it manifests itself as a weakness which shows first in her legs.

I keep her in a cage indoors for about 3 days, make sure she eats well, along with the tuna, and I also gently massage her legs a couple of times a day.

Good luck. Hope this is useful.

 

[FrankiesFamFarm]

Amazing. Thank you. We’ll try this too.