Limping hen

[srosales1996]

I was given some broilers a few months ago, never have had broilers. Let them run with my flock for a couple of weeks and noticed one of them had lost a lot of weight. Before I knew it they had all died. I assumed it was the breed. My flock free ranges, broilers are big meat birds. I just assumed I did not provide what they needed.

Well.... now one of my Good Rhode islands is following suit. I noticed a couple of days ago that she was limping. Picked her up and she has zero muscle mass on that leg. It's all bone! She's lost a lot of weight.

I have never had a bird illness if any kind. What am I dealing with? Is it going to wipe my whole flock out? How do I treat it? I have chicks upstairs in the brood room. They are separate, but it's attached to the coop. What do I need to do!? Anyone????

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I was given some broilers a few months ago, never have had broilers. Let them run with my flock for a couple of weeks and noticed one of them had lost a lot of weight. Before I knew it they had all died. I assumed it was the breed. My flock free ranges, broilers are big meat birds. I just assumed I did not provide what they needed.

Well.... now one of my Good Rhode islands is following suit. I noticed a couple of days ago that she was limping. Picked her up and she has zero muscle mass on that leg. It's all bone! She's lost a lot of weight.

I have never had a bird illness if any kind. What am I dealing with? Is it going to wipe my whole flock out? How do I treat it? I have chicks upstairs in the brood room. They are separate, but it's attached to the coop. What do I need to do!? Anyone????

I'm sorry you're having trouble.

Do you have any photos of the leg and hen?
How old were the broilers when you got them?
Did you notice any other symptoms - runny nose (mucous), discharge from the eyes, coughing, sneezing, etc.?
Any lesions, bruising on the hocks (thighs)?
Any paralysis of the legs before dying?

It's so hard to know what is going on. To be honest, you may want to send your Rhode Island for necropsy and testing to get more information.

Diseases like Mycoplasma S., Marek's, Avian Leukosis and others can cause limping, weight loss, paralysis and death, but without the testing there's no way to know. Any of these are contagious and can be passed along to other chickens.


Necropsy and State labs
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm
http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

Independent lab testing:
http://www.zoologix.com/