A few months ago, I had a young rooster begin limping. I figured he had injured himself some how and just monitored. Well the limp worsened to where the toes were curled under, but he was still walking on it. At this point, I braced it and confined him for a few days. He was in pain and I wanted to see if the leg would mend enough for him to survive. He was dead a few days later. Total time was about 2 weeks. Almost a month after that, I had a pullet start to limp. We were on vacation for 5 days and when we returned, she could not use one leg at all and was laying down. She ate and drank well for 5 days ( inside with me ) and never seemed to be in pain before we ended it for her. She wasn't getting better. It has been another month and I now have another pullet limping. What on earth is going on? I've googled leg paralysis in chickens and found numerous causes. I have dewormed my chickens, I put vitamins in their water, they are free range with access to 16% layer feed.... I'm not sure what is going on, but I have never had problems in 3 years. No new chickens have been introduced to my flock that didn't come from previously used, certified, and trusted breaders. We do live in a very old house. Is this a disease or are they eating something they shouldn't? Any help or guidance would be appreciated.
Free range plus 16% layer feed. They also get occasional fruit and veggie scraps. I fed cooked eggs to the other two with no improvement.
Strange...Contact a poultry vet...If you call a livestock vet they can give you a number for a poultry vet to discuss your symptoms with... Good luck
Mareks disease or a vitamin deficiency could be possibilities. Make sure that your feed is fresh dated, but it can also help to add poultry vitamins containing riboflavin to the water or feed. Most state vets can do a necropsy to test for Mareks on a dead chicken whose body has been refrigerated. Here are 2 good links to read about Mareks disease: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq https://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf Another link for state vets to contact: http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf
