Possible stroke

[Cindilong]

One of my barred rock pullets who had been fine for the first 7 weeks of her life suddenly couldn't work her left leg. I could move it thru its range of motion easily with no pain No swelling, no injuries I could see. Over the next few days she lost the ability to walk. Her right leg got sort of spastic and tight but then loosened up. She stands splay legged and now often gets a wing caught under a leg. She's eating and drinking fine. She seems better now (it's been a week) because she can stand up taller. But she still can't walk. She still has no swelling and no obvious injury or boo boo. When I pick her up her legs just kind of flop all over the place and when I hold her feet on my hands sometimes her toes can exert pressure but sometimes they're just floppy. Her wings do flap but it seems like she doesn't have much control over it. At first she had a hard time getting to her food and water because she was so ataxic and her head would just flop around so I helped her a lot. But now she has better control of her head and can eat and drink on her own. Here's a video of me and my dad trying to get her to move around so you could see how it looks. I'm thinking neurological, stroke Maybe?

 

[DobieLover]

One of my barred rock pullets who had been fine for the first 7 weeks of her life suddenly couldn't work her left leg. I could move it thru its range of motion easily with no pain No swelling, no injuries I could see. Over the next few days she lost the ability to walk. Her right leg got sort of spastic and tight but then loosened up. She stands splay legged and now often gets a wing caught under a leg. She's eating and drinking fine. She seems better now (it's been a week) because she can stand up taller. But she still can't walk. She still has no swelling and no obvious injury or boo boo. When I pick her up her legs just kind of flop all over the place and when I hold her feet on my hands sometimes her toes can exert pressure but sometimes they're just floppy. Her wings do flap but it seems like she doesn't have much control over it. At first she had a hard time getting to her food and water because she was so ataxic and her head would just flop around so I helped her a lot. But now she has better control of her head and can eat and drink on her own. Here's a video of me and my dad trying to get her to move around so you could see how it looks. I'm thinking neurological, stroke Maybe?

It sounds like she may have the neural form of Marek's. Were your chicks vaccinated?

 

[Cindilong]

It sounds like she may have the neural form of Marek's. Were your chicks vaccinated?

Yes they were.

 

[DobieLover]

Yes they were.

What hatchery did you purchase from?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

One of my barred rock pullets who had been fine for the first 7 weeks of her life suddenly couldn't work her left leg.

lost the ability to walk. Her right leg got sort of spastic and tight but then loosened up. She stands splay legged and now often gets a wing caught under a leg.

When I pick her up her legs just kind of flop all over the place and when I hold her feet on my hands sometimes her toes can exert pressure but sometimes they're just floppy. Her wings do flap but it seems like she doesn't have much control over it. At first she had a hard time getting to her food and water because she was so ataxic and her head would just flop around

What are you feeding her?
I agree, with some of the symptoms you describe, I would not rule out Marek's.
The legs splaying out like that, are the hock joints swollen at all?

You can try treating her with Vitamin E (400IU daily) along with Vitamin B-Complex (1/2tablet daily) for a week to see if that makes a difference. If she doesn't respond in a very short period of time, then I would lean heavily toward Marek's.

It's possible she may she may be showing signs of leg bone deformity as well. It's very hard to know the cause. All you can do really is to offer supportive care and make sure she is eating her chick starter and drinking. Getting testing/necropsy if you lose her will give you some answers.

You can also try putting her in a sling for short periods of time, but you will need to monitor her and keep working the legs.

Chick chair ideas :https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/
Marek's information: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

 

[Cindilong]

Thank you. I got her at a local feed store and they say all their chicks are vaccinated for Marek's. Would it present initially with just trouble with one leg? The splaying happened after about 5 days. I've got 45 chicks here ages 2 weeks to 9 weeks. 38 have had exposure to the 5 she was purchased with and of those 15 had exposure to her before symptoms. I'll have to read up on how infectious it is but nobody else is having any problems at all.

I've compared her joint size to the chicks that are the same age as her and I don't think she has any joint swelling at all. I have been doing therapy with her daily where I help her stand up and get her legs under her. They alternate between tensing up to bear weight and then they'll be floppy again. When they tense up, they do move into the correct position under her body. Same thing with her toes, sometimes they can act like normal toes but sometimes they flop and don't have any response to me trying to get them to bear weight.

She's spending more time standing up on her own though, and she recognizes when I give her new food and water and she makes her way over about 6 in to where they are. She cheeps softly at me when she hears me come in the room. At this point I would say she has no neurological symptoms from the chest up anymore. Her wings haven't gotten tangled in her feet in two days now.

I've read about Marek's but as far as I know I've never had it so I don't remember most of what I read and I don't know if this is a normal recovery course or what. I have been giving her Nutri drench in her water.

Thanks everybody

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Would it present initially with just trouble with one leg? The splaying happened after about 5 days. I've got 45 chicks here ages 2 weeks to 9 weeks.

The splaying happened when she was 5 days old? If that's the case, then I would lean toward it being a leg bone deformity.

Yes, Marek's can present in many ways, often it's just one leg, a wing, wry neck or other symptom. Even with vaccination, it doesn't always "take". The vaccine usually will prevent the formation of tumors, but birds can still have infection symptoms.

Poultry Nutri-Drench does not contain B2 (Riboflavin). B2 is for leg health, I suggest that you get some poultry vitamins that has B2 or use the B-Complex.

Here's a good read about Marek's
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

 

[Cindilong]

I'll get b2. No, the splaying happened 5 days after the initial thing started, which was at 7 weeks of age. Thanks.

 

[ChickNanny13]

2x Wyorp Rock - Thinking possible Riboflavin deficiency (B2) along with foods high in it (scrambled eggs, tuna, spinach ... )

 

[TashaFrancois]

Did you check if her toes work?