Nerve damage to leg

[Secret Garden]

Hello friends and fellow animal lovers. I am new to BackYard Chickens and am excited about meeting you and learning more about chickens. I have 7 beautiful hens. I've had them for about 4 weeks and this is my first flock. 6 hens are approximately 6 months and the last is roughly a year old. This morning, I took my Lakenvelder to my horses' vet who also cares for farm animals. She is 6 months old. This past weekend, I noticed that she was limping and occasionally dragging her left leg behind her. A break of any sort was ruled out during the examination. I was told that she may have "nerve damage" and to keep her "on rest" for a couple of months. I put her in the coop with 2 Cochin and plenty of food & water. The Cochin are very motherly towards her and I felt that they could keep her company. It sounds like the key is to limit her movement. Has anyone else out there experienced this? My heart breaks for her and my older son who treats all of our hens like pets. Any suggestions and/or comments? I can sure use the support. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Were your chickens vaccinated for Mareks disease? Limping and paralysis of legs can be a symptom of Mareks. Hopefully, it is just an injury. I usually recommend poultry vitamins in the water for injured legs, along with rest.

 

[Secret Garden]

Thank you so much for this information. I know the hens received what was described to me as a "7-way" inoculation. I will have to research this more. When we arrived at the vet's office, my hen would not walk for her. I described her motion as a "paralysis". I hope this is not the case. I have seen poultry vitamins at Tractor Supply. I will get some tomorrow. Thank you for the information. I will be up late tonight with more research. I am not at all familiar with Mareks Disease. Thank you.

 

[Margot]

I have a rooster that broke or sprained his leg when he was about a year old. It took months in fact an entire winter of living inside a separate cage in the coop. He was awake lively eating and all around like a normal check in except for the fact he could not walk. Hubby wanted to give him the axe I said let's get him a month or two. By the end of winter he was walking just fine albeit with a very slight limp. He integrated back into the flock just fine.so my suggestion would be separation lots of rest and TLC.

 

[Secret Garden]

Thank you for the input. It sounds as though our hen is having a similar experience to the one your rooster had with his leg. We will continue with the rest and believe me, there is a lot of TLC going on here. Our vet also recommended 2 months off. If she does not improve within that time, our vet said she could amputate the leg. I'll keep you posted on her progress. Thanks again!

 

[Secret Garden]

Sadly, my hen is having a rough night. The same can be said for me. I can't believe how attached my family and I are to this little girl. As of this morning, Oksana's left leg was extended completely behind her. This evening, after checking on her several times throughout the day, I noticed that her right leg is extended out in front of her. She cannot stand up on her own and tends to fall over on one side, resting on her wing. I called the vet and she recommended an antibiotic from Tractor Supply. I have since given Oksana a dose and have put her inside a large muck bucket full of shavings. She is resting now on our screen porch. I am going to follow-up with the vet tomorrow as she needed to research Marek's Disease before getting back to me with additional treatment options. I have read a whole lot about Marek's disease in the past 2 nights. My hens were vaccinated. What could this possibly be and is the outcome hopeful?

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry that she is not better. Occasionally a chicken can still get Mareks after receiving a vaccine, do to vaccine failure, or not being islolated for over a week after being vaccinated in a Mareks-positive environment. There are many articles on Mareks if you google them. Here are 2 that I like--please look at picture # 11in the first link--it describes how your chicken is tonight: http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/search/disease/502
http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf

 

[csmith1975]

Sadly, my hen is having a rough night. The same can be said for me. I can't believe how attached my family and I are to this little girl. As of this morning, Oksana's left leg was extended completely behind her. This evening, after checking on her several times throughout the day, I noticed that her right leg is extended out in front of her. She cannot stand up on her own and tends to fall over on one side, resting on her wing. I called the vet and she recommended an antibiotic from Tractor Supply. I have since given Oksana a dose and have put her inside a large muck bucket full of shavings. She is resting now on our screen porch. I am going to follow-up with the vet tomorrow as she needed to research Marek's Disease before getting back to me with additional treatment options. I have read a whole lot about Marek's disease in the past 2 nights. My hens were vaccinated. What could this possibly be and is the outcome hopeful?

Hi! I know you posted this a long time ago, but One of my hens is experiencing the same symptoms as you mentioned in your post. Did you ever find out a diagnosis for your hen? Thanks! Colleen

 

[Eggcessive]

Hi! I know you posted this a long time ago, but One of my hens is experiencing the same symptoms as you mentioned in your post. Did you ever find out a diagnosis for your hen? Thanks! Colleen

The OP has not been online for 8 years, but if you would like to start a new thread of your own, you may get some more views. How old is your hen, and was she vaccinated for Mareks? Was there a possibility that she was injured? Post thread here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures.10/post-thread

 

[csmith1975]

Blu is almost two years old. She wasn’t vaccinated for Mareks. I’ll have to look into that disease. I took her to the vet and he ruled out any broken bones or dislocated joints. She is on an antibiotic and I’m hoping she gets better with time. I appreciate your response.