Limping Chicken No Longer Moving Around

[morganney]

Hi everybody. I'm hoping somebody here can help me figure out whats wrong with my chicken. I've already taken her to the vet and they had no answers.

The chicken is a white plymouth that I purchased last spring. For as long as I remember this chicken has always had an unusual personality (now I'm sure its related to whatever is wrong with her) in that she would not try to keep walking with the flock like the others. She would walk as much as she had to to keep up with them, but once they were eating in an area she would sit down. This behavior got progressively worse where she would sit down further and further away from the flock until she ultimately stopped trying to keep up with them and would just sit in the yard all day near the run. All the while there were no noticeable injuries or limping.

A couple weeks back there were two days we thought she was broody, but then on the third day she left the nesting box and had an obvious limp. She tried her hardest to move around the yard but ultimately I had to carry her back to the run because her limp was so bad. We took her to the vet that day to no avail. After that she has never left the run, and now she really doesn't leave the nesting box (I think because the other hens are picking on her now). About two days ago there was a noticeable irritation on the leg with the limp as if she or another chicken was pecking at it. Her quality of life is now at its lowest since we've had her.

What could have caused this limping that got progressively worse and has left her practically immobile? None of the other chickens exhibit any of these symptoms or behavior. I believe whatever the issue is to be congenital but I really have no certainties. We're considering putting her down due to her low quality of life, but would really like to know what is wrong with her to see if there is any hope.

Thanks for any feedback you might be able to provide!

 

[azygous]

I'm going to level with you right up front here - I do not believe there's any hope your hen will get better. The reason I say that is because I've had a few hens with the same symptoms, and I tried every remedy including vitamin therapy and antibiotics.

Some lameness is caused by a vitamin B and E imbalance. Some lameness has a viral origin causing a form of avian arthritis. Other cases involve an injury that never heals properly. Some lameness is caused by avian gout brought on by kidney and liver damage from too much protein over a lifetime. Then there is Marek's and other avian viruses that cause lameness.

What I finally think caused the lameness in my hens is neurotoxin poisoning from a log splitter leaking fluids onto the soil where they were getting their grit. I had a baby chick die and I traced it back to that spot under the splitter where I'd seen the chick just prior to it suddenly becoming paralyzed.

I believe the hens also ate grit from the contaminated soil, but they had enough body mass it didn't kill them outright, but they suffered brain damage that caused them to go lame. I did euthanize the both when it became obvious I could do nothing for them, and their quality of life had diminished to the point where they were struggling more than they needed to.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I agree with @azygous outcome does not look to bright from your description. I'm very sorry.

If you don't mind, can you post some photos of her?

 

[morganney]

Thanks @azygous for your direct honestly and useful information. I will certainly keep it in mind if/when some of my other chickens experience something similar.

Yesterday morning after feeding her and noticing her spirit seemed lower than usual we planned on bringing her out and sitting with her in the afternoon sun to break up the monotony and hopefully give her comfort before she dies. Unfortunately we found her passed away in her nesting box that afternoon. All I can hope is that it was during a peaceful sleep.

On the bright side I'm sure she lived a much richer life than any commercially raised chicken, even if for only a year.

 

[azygous]

So, so sorry to hear of this outcome. But it is probably for the best since her quality of life had no hope for ever improving, and she saved you from the heart wrenching task of euthanizing her.

I really strongly recommend you refrigerate (not freeze) her body and look for a lab to have a necropsy done. If her symptoms were caused by an avian virus, it can have implications for the health of your flock, and it is important for you to know exactly what you are dealing with.

A call to your university agricultural extension office can produce information on where to find a lab. Or perhaps a local vet can help.