One of my chicken's is about to kick the bucket... advice?

[baptistbirdman]

Alright, I came in to open the door to the run this morning and one of my birds (about 6 weeks old) was laying on its side, acting like it had a broken leg and trying to get up. I tried to pick it up and put it on its feet, and it just falls back on its side and is limping.

First and most important: Is it safe to slay and eat?

Second: What could be the cause??

I've also had a 3rd Cornish X (out of 4 die) so I'm slaughtering that one tomorrow. I don't know why they are dying, I've talked with others who keep them on feed 24/7 so I don't think its that. Other than this particular bird this morning, no other's have had any problems out of the 26.

 

[cobrien]

I don't know, could it be Marek's?

If you lose this one or others, I would send the body to your state veterinarian for a necropsy. Some do it free, some charge a fee. The test every organ and tissue in the bird for a wide range of diseases. Maybe post in the emergencies / injuries / cures section for more responses.

 

[patandchickens]

I'm not sure I understand clearly here -- is the unable-to-walk 6 wk old a meatie (cornishX)? Or a regular chicken? And did you lose 3 of 4 CornishX, or did you lose 4 or 26 CornishX?

In general though it is not a great idea to eat animals that die or become incapacitated from genuinely-unknown causes (in this case, bear in mind that infection can cause serious lameness...) unless you really need every last little bit of food you can get. At the very least, you'd want to do a somewhat careful necropsy on it as you process it, see what the insides look like, *then* decide whether you feel ok with eating it.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Knowing Happiness]

I had a pullet that age and I was ready to put her down because she was acting poorly. I mixed up some chicken homeopathy and had fed her because she would not even lift her head up.
1 cooked egg yolk
1 T honey
2 T yogurt
1/4 c oats
1 apple grated
After a half day she was up and the next day back to pretending to be a chicken.

 

[baptistbirdman]

Ok, just to clarify, this was a regular chicken. We had 26 total, 4 of which were Cornish (3 of them are dead now), and this is a regular black chicken that's sick.

I went back in and checked on it, the chicken is still alive, and above its leg there's an infectious looking area. there's no feather's on it, and the skin area looks very raw. What could be the cause of it??

 

[baptistbirdman]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=4116676#p4116676

I've reposted it here, with pictures.