Mareks disease? Slipped tendon perosis in hen? HELP!!

[Kearaaaa23]

Hi everyone,
This is about my 2 year old hen that was recently attacked by a fox (check previous thread to know about her injuries etc...) but made a full recovery. Her breathing fixed and the puncture that the fox caused has healed and new feathers are coming through. The only issue is that she still has a limp when walking. Today she was in her cage to sleep indoors and she started whining/whimpering. I checked and her right leg was fully spread straight down, not to the side. Almost like the splits. She put her leg back and can walk just with a limp. She is eating and drinking well and her droppings are normal, eyes and breathing are normal too. Is there any way I can do to help her limp and does anyone know a cause as to why her leg was like that with her whimpering? Also seperate thing but right after the fox attack she laid an egg and her entire vent area was bloody and bleeding. I took her to get cleaned up and noticed a blueish bump right on her vent. Didn't look like a cancerous lump but a blueish bit. Anyone know the causes of the bleeding and the bump? Any advice will be appreciated! Many thanks

 

[townchicks]

Sorry your hen is having more problems. It's possible that the fox attack stressed her enough to cause a flare up of latent mareks, but more likely she has some residual damage from the fox attack. You might try some anti-inflammatory, like aspirin or ibuprofen, metacam or carprofen if you can get some from a vet. The blueish spot could just be a bruise, is it gone now?

 

[Kearaaaa23]

Sorry your hen is having more problems. It's possible that the fox attack stressed her enough to cause a flare up of latent mareks, but more likely she has some residual damage from the fox attack. You might try⅗ some anti-inflammatory, like aspirin or ibuprofen, metacam or carprofen if you can get some from a vet. The blueish spot could just be a bruise, is it gone now?

Thanks the the message! Just out of curiousity, do you think my chickens could have Mareks? None have shown symptoms in the 3 years I have had them except now. If the fox attack did stress her out wouldn't she have displayed the mareks symptoms like then leg issue etc.. i have had chickens for a while and nothing like this has happened. None of my chickens have the marek symptoms. No wierd poops, no leg issues, eyes are normal. Thanks!

 

[Kearaaaa23]

@Eggcessive @nuthatched @Wyorp Rock

 

[nuthatched]

I'm sorry, I'm not experienced with wounds of this sort.

 

[townchicks]

Thanks the the message! Just out of curiousity, do you think my chickens could have Mareks? None have shown symptoms in the 3 years I have had them except now. If the fox attack did stress her out wouldn't she have displayed the mareks symptoms like then leg issue etc.. i have had chickens for a while and nothing like this has happened. None of my chickens have the marek symptoms. No wierd poops, no leg issues, eyes are normal. Thanks!

I'm not an expert, but it doesn't sound quite like mareks. But mareks can be weird, and if your hens were vaccinated as chicks, that can hide it. Still leaning towards damage from the attack, because you said she had a limp from it.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This is about my 2 year old hen that was recently attacked by a fox

The only issue is that she still has a limp when walking. Today she was in her cage to sleep indoors and she started whining/whimpering. I checked and her right leg was fully spread straight down, not to the side. Almost like the splits. She put her leg back and can walk just with a limp.

I took her to get cleaned up and noticed a blueish bump right on her vent. Didn't look like a cancerous lump but a blueish bit. Anyone know the causes of the bleeding and the bump?

Also seperate thing but right after the fox attack she laid an egg and her entire vent area was bloody and bleeding. I took her to get cleaned up and noticed a blueish bump right on her vent. Didn't look like a cancerous lump but a blueish bit. Anyone know the causes of the bleeding and the bump?

Please post photos of your hen, her vent and her poop.

A vent bleeding and bloody, did she prolapse?
What do you feed, including treats.

I'd give her Extra Calcium asap. 1 Calcium Citrate+D3 now, then once daily for a week.

If she was struggling to expel an egg, this can also cause some leg issues, perhaps it was pinching a nerve, especially if that seems to be resolved and she's now back to being able to walk with her normal limp.

I wouldn't be surprised that a hen who was attacked by a Fox may have some nerve or permanent damage, and she may have a limp for the rest of her life...hard to know. Foxes squeeze their victims.

Injuries can take an incredibly long time to recover from at times. Just because the external is "healed" it doesn't mean there's still not damage to the internals.
Offer her supportive care through Vitamin Therapy for a while, see if the limping improves. Give her 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily along with a bit of egg daily for a month.


One of your other threads.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/are-these-symptoms-bird-flu-help.1657574/

 

[Kearaaaa23]

Please post photos of your hen, her vent and her poop.

A vent bleeding and bloody, did she prolapse?
What do you feed, including treats.

I'd give her Extra Calcium asap. 1 Calcium Citrate+D3 now, then once daily for a week.

If she was struggling to expel an egg, this can also cause some leg issues, perhaps it was pinching a nerve, especially if that seems to be resolved and she's now back to being able to walk with her normal limp.

I wouldn't be surprised that a hen who was attacked by a Fox may have some nerve or permanent damage, and she may have a limp for the rest of her life...hard to know. Foxes squeeze their victims.

Injuries can take an incredibly long time to recover from at times. Just because the external is "healed" it doesn't mean there's still not damage to the internals.
Offer her supportive care through Vitamin Therapy for a while, see if the limping improves. Give her 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily along with a bit of egg daily for a month.


One of your other threads.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/are-these-symptoms-bird-flu-help.1657574/

From when I checked her vent, around 10 mins after she passed the egg, she did not have a prolapse. I searched it up and appearently it was caused by a ruptured blood vessel in the vent. Not quite sure if that is viable in this case but I did not see any other way that caused the bleeding.
I give all my chickens layer pellets with calcium grit (eggshells) every day. They get mealworms as treats daily and occasionally any kitchen scraps that are safe for chickens. I will start giving her vitamin E and calcium D3 since I have that on hand.
Attached below are pics of the hen with the odd leg. Please let me know if I can eliminate the thought of my chickens having mareks and chalk it up to her being attacked by a fox along with other reproductive issues such as the bleeding vent. She is a comercial egg laying breed so to my knowledge she is more prone to reproductive issues? Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

From when I checked her vent, around 10 mins after she passed the egg, she did not have a prolapse. I searched it up and appearently it was caused by a ruptured blood vessel in the vent. Not quite sure if that is viable in this case but I did not see any other way that caused the bleeding.
I give all my chickens layer pellets with calcium grit (eggshells) every day. They get mealworms as treats daily and occasionally any kitchen scraps that are safe for chickens. I will start giving her vitamin E and calcium D3 since I have that on hand.
Attached below are pics of the hen with the odd leg. Please let me know if I can eliminate the thought of my chickens having mareks and chalk it up to her being attacked by a fox along with other reproductive issues such as the bleeding vent. She is a comercial egg laying breed so to my knowledge she is more prone to reproductive issues? Thank you!

The cage looks pretty restrictive. Can she walk about outside even with a limp? If so, I'd put her outside with her friends and see how she does.

No one here can rule out the possibility of Marek's. If you lose her, get some testing through necropsy, this will give you confirmation.

 

[Kearaaaa23]

The cage looks pretty restrictive. Can she walk about outside even with a limp? If so, I'd put her outside with her friends and see how she does.

No one here can rule out the possibility of Marek's. If you lose her, get some testing through necropsy, this will give you confirmation.

Yes she walks and moves perfectly outside but with the limp. We only bring her in at night so she dosen't bully/attack our broody bantam hen and make her come of the eggs. The cage is pretty small but she can still move etc.... we are looking for a dog crate for them. I will keep yall updated on her and see how she gets on! Thanks so much for all the help and advice.