Pullet unable to use her legs.

[Eggcessive]

Very good suggestions from Wyorp Rock and Chick Nanny13. Can you post a picture of her comb and her grey eye? A hidden wound could become infested with maggots, so good to look her over again. I have heard of chickens becoming lame due to an internal infection in the spleen or elsewhere, putting pressure on nerves causing paralysis. We always think of Mareks with lameness, but there can be other causes. If her eye is turning grey, though, that points more to Mareks.

 

[mustangrooster]

Alright, here are some pictures of her eye;
There seems to be alot more grey to her eye than there was yesterday, although the camera might not be able to pick it up that clearly.



And, her comb;
Its usually a very bright healthy red.



Examined her, and the only thing I found was a lot of mites/lice. I'll have to treat her for that, but I'm not sure when I should.... given her current status, but maybe a lice bath will do her good. I find that when I have all my chickens out free-ranging together, they get lice quicker and in larger quantities. Could these lice/mites be playing a role in this problem?


She didn't have any wounds anywhere, yet when I picked her up she still felt.... heavy. Almost like she was a bit bloated, but she wasn't...if that even makes sense. I felt if she was bloated, but she isn't. Her breath smells fine. She still tries very hard to move, I felt her whole lower body twitching when she tried to move her legs, but she just can’t. She ate her wet food + vitamins this morning (hence the dirty beak) not a large amount, but she was still interested. She looks very uncomfortable, so I'll make her a sling today.

 

[Eggcessive]

If she has mites, that could make her comb pale, and very weak from anemia. Permethrin 10 spray or the dust would take care of either lice or mites. Dust or spray her every 7 days for mites or every 10 days for lice at least 2-3 times, or until they are gone. You will need to empty the bedding and spray the coop, nests, and roosts. Here is a good link to tell which you are dealing with:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

Is her lower belly enlarged? Her eyes do look a bit greyish or the iris border is not as sharp. Does her comb look greyish as well as pale?

 

[ChickNanny13]

 

[TexasSam]

I’m noticing that you said that she felt heavy compared to normal and all this things and suggested problems wouldn’t make her heavy though. I don’t mean to discredit any of these problems and could possibly be a combination. Have you recently checked her poop swabbed her vent and throat even crop if possible? Can I ask is her’s and any other of your chickens got watery poop and or poopy eggs or scratching their necks. Diatomaceous earth have you heard of it if not check it out. Crunch up a multi vitamin and mix it in a can of salmon best tuna will work and feed it to her. Also some sav a chick won’t hurt.

 

[mustangrooster]

If she has mites, that could make her comb pale, and very weak from anemia. Permethrin 10 spray or the dust would take care of either lice or mites. Dust or spray her every 7 days for mites or every 10 days for lice at least 2-3 times, or until they are gone. You will need to empty the bedding and spray the coop, nests, and roosts. Here is a good link to tell which you are dealing with:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

Is her lower belly enlarged? Her eyes do look a bit greyish or the iris border is not as sharp. Does her comb look greyish as well as pale?

Right, that makes sense. Where would I find that spray? It’s usually quite hard to find stuff like that around here, so I might have to order it online. I get rid of mites on birds by washing/soaking them in AVC and sea salt, or would it be best not to wash her? My birds aren't using a coop at the moment, and they haven’t been for a couple of months. Their previous coop got too small and soon it couldn't hold them all, so it’s been turned into a pig pen and we are building a larger coop. I will spray all the roosts that they use, though.


No, her lower belly isn't enlarged, but yes her comb has a bit of a greyish tone to it.

 

[Eggcessive]

Most feed stores carry permethrin 10 under several brand names, such as Martins, Gordons, Durvet, and one called Permectein II. Inside the label is directions. It comes in pints and quarts or larger, making many gallons for use. You can mix the concentrate into a bottle sprayer for the chickens, or garden sprayer for the coop. The dust is preferred by some especially during cold weather.

 

[Eggcessive]

 

[mustangrooster]

Thanks for your help, I'll look into getting that.



Echo (the pullet) seems to be doing okay. I made her up a sling, so she should be a little bit more comfortable (I hope). One thing I am noticing is that she seems to be slumping to the left side, whether she is in the sling or not. She is also preferring to keep her left leg/foot close to her body, even If I lightly try to stretch it out it always returns to the same position. Any ideas on why she could be doing that? There's no break in her leg from what I can see/feel, but I'm wondering if there's another problem going on that I'm just not seeing.


I also have St. Johns wart on hand from when my cockerel got presumed Mareks. Could I give that to her?

EDIT: I took her outside for a little bit, and this is what I found out about her legs. She can move them, yesterday they were a little stiff but I presume that was from being in one position for too long. She can move them up and down with quite alot of force, too. But, when I put her back down on the ground she just slumps and cant seem to even use them. She is interested in food, however doesn't seem to be strong enough to lower her head to eat, and also her poop is very very watery....basically just brown water.

 

[Nambroth]

Given the history with your rooster (it sounds like he had classic symptoms) and a repeat with this pullet, and her age, I would strongly suspect Marek's, as it is very common. Please note that secondary problems are often present with Marek's as it suppresses the immune system. It's also very possible that the stress of a heavy parasite load (mites and possibly worms) was enough stress on her body that the Marek's virus was able to cause symptoms in her. Folks with Marek's positive flocks often notice that Marek's shows up in times of stress/other health problems.

Despite it sounding like Marek's, it's always worthwhile to treat the other problems, because even on their own, they can cause serious harm or even death (a bad mite infestation alone can kill chickens), and as long as she is fighting, there is always a chance she might recover if it isn't Marek's.