Pullet has weak legs... unable to roost

[spiritpots]

I'm hoping someone can help me with this. I began noticing three days ago that my 24 week old pullet, Nora, began exhibiting a limping/weakness in her legs. At first I thought it was just her right leg but today I noticed that it's occurring in both legs. She seems to be eating and drinking fine and free ranges with the other chickens, although I did find her standing in one place in a flower garden a couple times today and she appeared a bit puffed up. After a few minutes she was free ranging again. She doesn't look like she's ready to lay her first egg yet so I don't think it's related to that. Nora's feet look fine with no sign of injury or infection. Her eyes are clear, she doesn't seem to have any breathing issues and her wings and neck look fine, too.. no droopiness. Integrating Nora and the two other pullets I got with her in June to my existing flock of five chickens has been going well, although one of the older chickens still occasionally picks on the three younger girls. A couple of Nora's tail feathers look a bit mangled at the end, which I think is related to being chased by the older chicken. The last couple of days I found Nora wanting to sleep in a nesting box but I put her on the roost. Tonight at dusk she was in the box again and I tried to put her on the roost but it seemed like she was unable to support herself on the roost so I put her back into the box for tonight.

I get all of my chickens from the same breeder and they are not vaccinated for Marek's. I feed my chickens an organic grower feed with oyster shells on the side for the older hens and they all also get a few meal worms for a treat when they come back to the coop for me. Any insights about Nora's situation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much!

 

[SarahGfa]

Sounds like Marek's. It commonly shows up at this age.

 

[azygous]

Two of the most common causes of leg weakness is starvation and dehydration. Both are simple enough to treat, and if she responds favorably, then you will know why she was weak.

Warm 8 ounces of water and dissolve a teaspoon of sugar in it and add a pinch of salt and baking soda, and give a couple ounces each hour over a day's span. Or just use room temp Gatoraid. The sugar will elevate her glucose and she should become stronger in just a couple of hours. Same with the electrolytes.

Watch this pullet during the day. See if she is bullied away from the feeders. Often, a timid chicken will be bullied and come to believe she deserves it. She will be hesitant to eat as much as she should due to her conditioning not to spend much time at the feeder by her bullies. Eventually such a chicken becomes weak from starvation. You can confirm this by feeling her keel bone. If it's knife sharp, she underweight. If you discover she's being bullied, there is a cure for it.

Another cause of leg weakness is exposure to petroleum distillates. I was seeing numerous hens in my flock with leg issues, weakness, lameness, and paralysis. It wasn't until a small chick came up to me and stumbled at my feet, unable to stand that I went in search of the poison that was doing this. It took me two days of searching to discover the source was a log splitter leaking hydraulic fluid onto the ground where the chickens were scratching in the dirt, picking up contaminated grit.

Marek's is always a possibility, but rule out the above issues before you assume the worst.

 

[spiritpots]

Two of the most common causes of leg weakness is starvation and dehydration. Both are simple enough to treat, and if she responds favorably, then you will know why she was weak.

Warm 8 ounces of water and dissolve a teaspoon of sugar in it and add a pinch of salt and baking soda, and give a couple ounces each hour over a day's span. Or just use room temp Gatoraid. The sugar will elevate her glucose and she should become stronger in just a couple of hours. Same with the electrolytes.

Watch this pullet during the day. See if she is bullied away from the feeders. Often, a timid chicken will be bullied and come to believe she deserves it. She will be hesitant to eat as much as she should due to her conditioning not to spend much time at the feeder by her bullies. Eventually such a chicken becomes weak from starvation. You can confirm this by feeling her keel bone. If it's knife sharp, she underweight. If you discover she's being bullied, there is a cure for it.

Another cause of leg weakness is exposure to petroleum distillates. I was seeing numerous hens in my flock with leg issues, weakness, lameness, and paralysis. It wasn't until a small chick came up to me and stumbled at my feet, unable to stand that I went in search of the poison that was doing this. It took me two days of searching to discover the source was a log splitter leaking hydraulic fluid onto the ground where the chickens were scratching in the dirt, picking up contaminated grit.

Marek's is always a possibility, but rule out the above issues before you assume the worst.

Thank you for your reply. I will check her knee right now and try your suggestions. She seems to free range fine but I have seen run away from the feeders when my huge light brahma (the bully) is nearby. I have two feeders available for the seven chickens to help avoid the situation.