Hen with limp! What’s the cause? See photos please.

[EIEIO_farm]

My hen, Baby, started limping today and barely wants to walk or move around. No signs of injury, I checked her feet and even gave them a good rinse but couldn’t find any infection.
her feet do look quite pink, but I’m not sure if that’s normal.
Any advice??

 

[ChickNanny13]

Very interesting, the redness is only in the top webbing. Doesn't look like scaly mites but some kind of irritation. Does she free range? If she free ranges, what kind of foliage? What kind of bedding in the coop/run?


@Wyorp Rock @casportpony @azygous @Eggcessive

 

[azygous]

Has this chicken been vaccinated against Marek's? It may be just an artifact of the photo, but the eye appears to be discolored, indicating an ocular for of Marek's. The limping is also a symptom of Marek's. If Baby is under a year old, that's a third indication since Marek's often manifests at that age.

Compare her left eye with the right. If they are very different, you have a strong case for this being Marek's.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you post close up pics of both eyes. In the pic, either the third eyelid is covering her eye, or the light is showing the eye to look grey. How do they look to you? Mareks disease can cause a grey eye with an irregular pupil, but that is only in a small percentage of Mareks. Hopefully, it is just the picture that is making it look cloudy.

Does she have a knock kneed appearance of her legs, or does her left leg look to be turning outward. I am just wanting to figure out if she has a leg bone deformity called varus valgus deformity in her left leg. Does one leg seem numb or asleep, or do her toes curl under?

 

[EIEIO_farm]

Very interesting, the redness is only in the top webbing. Doesn't look like scaly mites but some kind of irritation. Does she free range? If she free ranges, what kind of foliage? What kind of bedding in the coop/run?


@Wyorp Rock @casportpony @azygous @Eggcessive

She is free range, and we have hay/pine pellets in the coop and pine pellets in the chicken run. She was fine the last few days, nothing seemed off. Right now she’s sitting by herself in the corner on the chicken run and won’t get up to eat because she can barely walk.

 

[EIEIO_farm]

Has this chicken been vaccinated against Marek's? It may be just an artifact of the photo, but the eye appears to be discolored, indicating an ocular for of Marek's. The limping is also a symptom of Marek's. If Baby is under a year old, that's a third indication since Marek's often manifests at that age.

Compare her left eye with the right. If they are very different, you have a strong case for this being Marek's.

Can you post close up pics of both eyes. In the pic, either the third eyelid is covering her eye, or the light is showing the eye to look grey. How do they look to you? Mareks disease can cause a grey eye with an irregular pupil, but that is only in a small percentage of Mareks. Hopefully, it is just the picture that is making it look cloudy.

Does she have a knock kneed appearance of her legs, or does her left leg look to be turning outward. I am just wanting to figure out if she has a leg bone deformity called varus valgus deformity in her left leg. Does one leg seem numb or asleep, or do her toes curl under?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She is free range, and we have hay/pine pellets in the coop and pine pellets in the chicken run. She was fine the last few days, nothing seemed off. Right now she’s sitting by herself in the corner on the chicken run and won’t get up to eat because she can barely walk.

Where are you located in the world - what's your weather and temperatures been like?

 

[EIEIO_farm]

Can you post close up pics of both eyes. In the pic, either the third eyelid is covering her eye, or the light is showing the eye to look grey. How do they look to you? Mareks disease can cause a grey eye with an irregular pupil, but that is only in a small percentage of Mareks. Hopefully, it is just the picture that is making it look cloudy.

Does she have a knock kneed appearance of her legs, or does her left leg look to be turning outward. I am just wanting to figure out if she has a leg bone deformity called varus valgus deformity in her left leg. Does one leg seem numb or asleep, or do her toes curl under?

 

[EIEIO_farm]

Where are you located in the world - what's your weather and temperatures been like?

We’re in Southern California and the weather has been very mild, in the 50’s-70’s

 

[EIEIO_farm]

View attachment 2015311View attachment 2015311View attachment 2015312

Her legs look normal, but she’s favoring one foot, like she can’t put much weight on it. She takes about two the three steps before stopping.