Limping/lameness - trueblue hen

[Rosekitten]

I think I'm going to go ahead with my idea of sticking her in the brooder with the doors closed once her sling time is over with. Not that I'm worried the flock left will pick on her with less roos in it but maybe if she can pull through she can easily just go back to the flock. She's been part of it from when she was a bitty.

Also it's far warmer today then yesterday so I don't feel like she'll need a ton of nesting to keep her comfortable.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It may help perk her up to be near them for a while each day. I would try putting her in the enclosed area for several hours a day, but if she is not able to move well, she still needs to be taken out to ensure she's eating/drinking.

 

[Rosekitten]

Yeah she'll still be in the bottom half of the carrier and in the closed brooder in the coop so no one can try to pick on her. I probably won't put food and water in there with her unattended as she does try to move and she can easily just end up with water all over herself (again). But she won't be out there too long unattended.

Is there anything else I should be trying to do to encourage her to use her legs? She just doesn't want to use them at all and I have to tuck her legs for her to sit somewhat proper, albeit leaning to the right...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I don't know of anything you can do to make her use the legs. Sadly it sounds like she has Marek's. She may regain the use of her legs over time. All you can do offer her supportive care.

 

[Rosekitten]

That's what I figured. Well if she does have Marek's then least she'll die as content as possible. Presently she is in the coop with all the hens hanging around the brooder she's in.

It's hard to say exactly what is wrong with her. I think she fell off the roost and hurt a leg and then the roos ganged up on her and the other one who had a bum leg before we got to them. But it could also be Marek's as the chicks weren't vaccinated when we got them (plus our own batch as well). Plus the stress of all the roos we had and the move on top of everything.

She seemed to at least enjoy the bath once she figured out what I was trying to do. Again she was one of the non friendly ones we had (the leghorns, trueblues and easter eggers are our anti social towards people chickens..) So this is all new to her being handled and tended to. Even if I was the one who tended to her and the rest of the chicks when they got here haha.

 

[rebrascora]

Are you aware of the bio security precautions you need to take if you have new chicks coming in? Even if they have been vaccinated for Marek's they need to be kept completely separate of the coop and flock and in particular this bird for 3 weeks. The virus is highly contagious and can be carried on your clothes, hair, skin and shoes from this possible infected bird and the chicks, so ideally you want one person tending the sick bird who has no contact with the chicks and someone else tending the chicks. With Marek's, birds are only infectious and shedding the virus whilst they are symptomatic and you will not see symptoms of the disease in infected birds for at least 3 weeks, so it easy to be lulled into a false sense of security with it. After this bird recovers from this outbreak (which is possible with Marek's) or dies, you would be well advised to clean down the coop and brooder and anywhere else (cat carrier) she has been kept with a virucide like Virkon S which is active against Marek's. The virus can live in such places for months if not years and a confined area where it can be dusty and birds often flap their wings and stir up the dust is a prime place for them to become infected by inhaling the virus in the dander dust.
Just something to consider.

 

[Kat2141]

I would really have to wonder about it being the roos... We had 4 out of a hatch and as they got older, they all decided they liked ONE of the 4 older hens... that poor girl was in bad shape quick. They were separated from the girls and she is doing fine now but I was afraid I was going to lose her and she was my favorite. It made me decide I don't want ANY roos here.

 

[Rosekitten]

It's my housemate's flock and she knows all of that, we've introduced new chicks to the flock before.

The thing is we don't know if this or the one who passed away has Marek's or not. They came from a local farm and she hasn't had any issue with the virus and we've not lost any birds to Marek's in over a year and a half now. Like I said, I personally think both the first hen to pass and this one who is favoring her legs sprained a leg and then the young roos ganged up on them.

They aren't my birds so most of this is up to her and not my call on it. I just end up tending to and taking care of them most of the time as my job is work from home.

But the hen is being cared for and looked after the best I have the ability to do so without prior experience and the extra roos are at their new home as of yesterday. And they were separated the day prior to being rehomed so we didn't end up with anyone else being picked on. We've been having a constant battle to keep them from picking on the one gimp hen we have (she is over a year and a half old), a neighbor's dog got her and she has survived but has a semi bum foot. The roos were ganging up on her as well. =/

Te roos we kept have not caused any issues and there is no chasing or squawking going on all day long anymore (I had tried to talk her into getting rid of a handful if not more of the roos earlier in their life when I was first counting we had 13 out of 48 chickens).

It was also mainly the leghorn roosters and the barred rock/production red mutts that were the issue roos. The one's we kept was the elder big daddy production red, a maran who is a gentle giant even with the hens, and the three true blue roos who are all quite a bit smaller then most of the hens minus the leghorns and other trueblues.

 

[Rosekitten]

Edit:

Also I have a update for her coop time thus far, one of the true-blue roos was calling out to her while I was in there and tending to her food and water. He kept trying to come over after she called back to him but he's flighty so he didn't want to get near me. She seems pretty content in the coop even if I've had to put her by herself for her safety.

 

[Rosekitten]

Today's morning update:

She is still eating and drinking. I left her in the bottom half of the carrier in coop (closed off still in the brooder) for the night, she seemed to do fine with this. She is stretching one leg out more so I'm not sure if that is a good sign or not. Still not wanting to do much of anything with her right leg so that one may be a lost cause.. Not sure what we can really do about that if anything at all.