Lame Chicken

[klnfisher]

Can anyone tell me what's wrong with this girl, and a potential remedy for her? She's been like this about two weeks, is otherwise active and doesn't seem sick. She's about 9 months old.

Thanks!

 

[Eggcessive]

It looks like her left leg is lame, maybe even paralyzed. Can you tell if she can move her toes if you stroke them? She is also standing on the hock or elbow when she stops to eat. I would be suspicious of a badly hurt leg, or possible Mareks disease. Do you know if she was vaccinated for Mareks? Have you added any new birds to your flock in the last few weeks? There are a couple of larger roosters in your flock, so an injury could be the problem. You may want to pen her up for a week or two with food and water where she can still see the other chickens, but she can rest her leg to see if it gets better.

 

[klnfisher]

Thank you!

No new chickens recently - but she was from a local farm and not vaccinated for Marek's.

The middle toe won't move at all, but she stretches her leg and outside toes when stroked. I was hoping it was a broken or injured leg, since she isn't showing any other signs of disease. We will isolate her.