Injury/Pullet Unable to Walk

[CampbellK]

Good morning. This is my first post, but I have been reading for quite some time. I have a 14 week old Cream Legbar Pullet.

About two weeks ago, I noticed her limping on her right leg. I checked her out and did not see any obvious injury. Within about two days, she could no longer stand at all. I took her to a local vet who did a series of x-rays. Over $600 later, he confirmed that she had no break or dislocation. Since she was sedated, he did a once over, and found a fairly large wound on her right upper leg. He prescribed an anti-inflammatory and a subcutaneous antibiotic injection for 10 days. That was an adventure.

We are going on two weeks now, and she still cannot walk. Her injured leg sticks straight out in front of her and is somewhat cool to the touch. If it wasn’t for the fact that I saw the wound we were dealing with, I would be scared it was Merick’s. Sidenote, she was vaccinated at hatch.

I’ve been trying to clean her wound, which still looks very angry. She’s also not using her left leg anymore. I cannot afford to take her back to the vet for another $600 visit. I’ve also been giving her a bunch of vitamins and trying to keep her still. I just don’t know what to do anymore. I’m worried that if she continues to not move her legs, her muscles will just atrophy.

I have attached a few pictures. Does anybody have any suggestions? I feel so terrible for her. She is still eating and drinking and making her happy chicken noises.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Sorry you did not get a response earlier. Sorry about your pullet, and the high priced vet. Did she seem worse after they sedated her? Do you have any idea how the injury occurred? Could she have been pecked or attacked because of her limp? Where on her body were the injections given? I would try her in a chicken sling, if she will tolerate one for periods throughout the day. It might be easier to get her eating and drinking, and keep her clean. Was she vaccinated in a hatchery, or by a breeder? I really hope it isn’t Mareks, but I have read about a large number of her breed having symptoms of Mareks. If you lose her some day, the best way to get a diagnosis would be to have a state vet do a necropsy. What state are you in? Here is a good link about chicken sling chairs examples, especially post 5, 11, 12:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

 

[CampbellK]

Thank you so much for your response. She seemed exactly the same after the sedation. The subcutaneous injections were given on her back, in between the wing area. I was very careful and am confident that the medication was only under her skin. You could see it since her skin is like tissue paper.

She has been separate from the big girls since I got her in October. I guess there’s always a chance that the other pullet she was housed with could have picked at her, but I’ve never actually seen any type of aggression between the two of them. They start panicking when they can’t see each other, and they are just calling out to one another all day now that they are separated. It’s very sad. I had a thought that perhaps she was bitten by an ant or a spider and that the bite became infected.

I’ve been giving her a very light bath, just on her bottom, almost every day to keep her clean. She tries very hard to stand up, and pretty much uses her wings to brace herself.

I did make her a sling, but she seemed extremely uncomfortable and agitated when I put her in it. I also got her a little carrier thinking it might be more comfortable than the homemade sling.

I’ve also been massaging her feet and trying to carefully stretch her legs. I just find it so coincidental that she has this big wound on her side and Merick’s at the same time. if it is, how long does disease usually take to run its course? Obviously she’s protected from the other chickens and I make sure she has access to food and water at all times. Would the natural progression of the disease take weeks or months? She definitely has not gotten any worse at all. It’s like she stopped walking and has now plateaued for the last two weeks. No improvement, but definitely no worse.

Located in Miami, Florida. Impossible to find a vet that will treat chickens. My sister-in-law has parrots so I took Chili there. In Miami, she’s considered an “exotic” lol

 

[Eggcessive]

How is she doing today—any change? Mareks symptoms can show up suddenly, but since she has a wound, I would give her some time to heal. There might be some nerve injury. But she is at an age when some might see symptoms. Let us know how she gets along. Here are some links to read about Mareks:
https://vetmedbiosci.colostate.edu/vdl/colorado-avian-health-program/mareks-disease/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

 

[CampbellK]

Hello, so far no change. She’s eating and drinking great. I’ve been cleaning her wound daily (Vetericyn and Neosporin), but it really doesn’t look any better. Is it possible for Merck’s to present as an open sore on the chickens skin?

 

[Eggcessive]

Mareks can cause tumors and lesions on the skin, but it is usually more widespread than in one spot. Mareks is best diagnosed with a necropsy after death. Many things can look like it, but diagnosis is made by finding tumors in nerves or organs. If blood can be collected from a trimmed toenail, sometimes it can be sent off to a few national labs and they can do a pcr Mareks test. They have to send the materials to you to collect the specimen and then you send it back.