Pullet not wanting to stand.

[Leighwilliams]

I have a molted Java pullet that will not stand. I noticed this 2 days ago when I went to let them out of the coop for the day. She was laying down and not moving. At first I thought she was dead so I went to pick her up and found that she was alive so I looked to see if there was a injury from being picked on because I have a Orpington pullet that had gotten pretty badly pecked on her head from my australorp hens. I did not find any injuries on the pullet so I carried her to the feed and water area and laid her down. She just laid there slightly to one side. I continued to watch her from a distance and noticed that when she did stand to eat food she would limp. Then a australorp came over a started to attack her and the pullet just laid there. So went and picked the pullet up and took her inside. I made a big box with bedding in it and placed water and food in it. I gently tried to examine her to see if she broke a leg or some thing but I cant tell. I laid her in the box close enough To the food and water and that is where she has stayed for the last 2 days. Not moving. She just lays there. She will take a sip or nibble her food ever so often but that it. She so quiet that you for get she’s in my dining room. My boys call her Oreo and we check on her ever so often. When I picked her up to check her out today I noticed her left leg doesn’t extend out as far as the right when holding her and since she hasn’t moved her poop is starting to stick to her feathers around the vent so I’m going to try and clean that today. I just don’t know what’s wrong with her. Please help. I would hate to cull her if she doesn’t get better. And yes I blow dried her dry after I cleaned her. She actually liked it.

 

[iwltfum]

It could be a number of things, but it sound like a possible case of Mareks disease. It's a type of contagious virus that chickens can get from the dander of other birds, wild or captive. She may recover from it, or she may die from it. Just keep on giving her good care. Maybe add some probiotics and vitamins to her water. There is not much you can do other than wait and see if she recovers or cull her. Once a bird has Mareks, they are considered a carrier for life even if they have recovered so she may be able to pass it to your other hens throughout the rest of her life. Lots of chickens are not vaccinated for Mareks and develop an immunity to it so you she could survive and you could keep her and continue to have a healthy flock, but you may still see a chicken go down from it every once in a while.

 

[Leighwilliams]

It could be a number of things, but it sound like a possible case of Mareks disease. It's a type of contagious virus that chickens can get from the dander of other birds, wild or captive. She may recover from it, or she may die from it. Just keep on giving her good care. Maybe add some probiotics and vitamins to her water. There is not much you can do other than wait and see if she recovers or cull her. Once a bird has Mareks, they are considered a carrier for life even if they have recovered so she may be able to pass it to your other hens throughout the rest of her life. Lots of chickens are not vaccinated for Mareks and develop an immunity to it so you she could survive and you could keep her and continue to have a healthy flock, but you may still see a chicken go down from it every once in a while.

After I finished cleaning her and blow drying her dry I noticed her left ankle area was really swollen and the veins going down her left leg were larger than the right and she makes a pained noise when you touch it. So I don’t know if it’s broke or if she’s sick. She’s just content to laying in the bedding and nibbling on her food and water.

 

[iwltfum]

Yes, it could be an injured leg - especially if you have older and bigger birds in with this one. You can't really do a whole lot about that either other than to keep on giving her good care and seeing if it gets better. I will usually cull a bird like this, just because I don't have time to single out a bird from my flock and pay it the attention it needs and I wouldn't want to take the risk of it being mareks, but my full time job is raising chickens - along with the rest of the farm work around my small farm. That being said, I totally understand taking the time to try to get her back to health if you have a a small flock and your children see her as a pet. If she improves, she will tell you if she is ready to go back to the flock by standing up, pacing around, making lots of noise, and generally being upset about being in the box that you have her in now.