Rooster balance issues/injured leg maybe? Please help ASAP!!!!!!!!!

[ozu]

Hey everyone... my rooster, Albedo seems to be having an issue...
He's acting pretty normally minus the way he's walking. Do you have any ideas on if he's actually injured or if there might be some other problem?
He's the only one doing this but he's acting normal besides the weird gait... he even attacked me for touchin one of his girls!!

But yeah.. I'm worried. :-(
Please help!

Also note: he should have been vaccinated from Marek's when I bought him.. so I really hope it's not that...​

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
Silkie, two years old?, dunno his weight but he feels like his normal weight.

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Limping, unsteady gait.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
He wasn't yesterday, he just started showing them today.

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
No.

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
Not that I can see... I felt along his legs/hips and he didn't make any noise (and he's a big squawker) and seemed actually quite relaxed in my arms.

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
He could have fallen off of the roost. He'd been fine with it for months but he could have had an accident... Obviously he won't be going on there anymore :-/
Oh and the hens attack him/corner him and pin him down sometimes.. they're mean (red sex links big surprise) so..

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
His food and water. He was drinking fine but he wanted to climb the waterer (which is on top of a milk crate to keep bedding and poop outta it) to get to it better so he wouldn't have to stretch his legs.

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Haven't seen him poop yet...

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Nothing yet.

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
Can't take him to the vet, I don't have the money and my mom hates him so it'd be a no-go. I just want to make sure he survives/isn't in pain. I'll do everything I can.. so yeah, I'd need to treat myself.

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
See the video above!

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Large coop.. mostly open. Has a teeny pen out the side to see the outside. Pine bedding.​

 

[ozu]

A video from today. I have another one uploading as well.​

 

[MrsBrooke]

I see him doing a lot of head shaking. When was the last time you checked them for parasites like lice and mites?

MrsB

 

[ozu]

I see him doing a lot of head shaking. When was the last time you checked them for parasites like lice and mites?

MrsB

Thank you so much for answering, I feared no one would!

It's been a little while, last summer I believe. They haven't been able to go outside until more recently so they weren't coming in contact with anything at all. They are probably due.
They don't seem to be itching a lot but I will give them a look over tomorrow. We are cleaning the coop then hopefully so I can treat them too as I return them to the coop.
(We used the garden dust stuff last time, and have a bunch left, but maybe we need something else???)

He is really twitchy normally, but you're right, he does seem to be twitching more than usual. When I looked at him in the pen in the morning from the window, I thought he was having some kind of seizing fit because he was twitching his head so much. It doesn't seem like any of the other chickens are shaking their heads or itching a lot though?

 

[Eggcessive]

Did you get him from a hatchery, since you think he had been vaccinated for Mareks? I would wonder if some of the head shaking, jerky movements, aren't connected to his problems walking. I would, as Mrs.Brooke said to check him for lice and mites, and also check his ears for a possible infection or ear mites, since an ear infection could cause imbalance and head shaking. There have been cases of Mareks where the vaccine has failed or maybe was not given by accident. He sure moves around a lot and quickly, too, if he is showing signs of Mareks. There are other reasons for neurological issues such as a toxin like lead paint, lead shot found in the soil, or chemical poisoning. I would start some poultry vitamins in the water containing B vitaimins including riboflavin, in case of deficiency.

 

[ozu]

Did you get him from a hatchery, since you think he had been vaccinated for Mareks? I would wonder if some of the head shaking, jerky movements, aren't connected to his problems walking. I would, as Mrs.Brooke said to check him for lice and mites, and also check his ears for a possible infection or ear mites, since an ear infection could cause imbalance and head shaking. There have been cases of Mareks where the vaccine has failed or maybe was not given by accident. He sure moves around a lot and quickly, too, if he is showing signs of Mareks. There are other reasons for neurological issues such as a toxin like lead paint, lead shot found in the soil, or chemical poisoning. I would start some poultry vitamins in the water containing B vitaimins including riboflavin, in case of deficiency.

Yes! I got him from a hatchery, the same place I got my Easter Egger, Barred Rock, and two other silkies (another boy and a girl). He's the only one having problems :-(
But yes tomorrow when it is light out I will check him over for bugs because they did have chicken lice last time I treated them (I will have to be careful, he pecked my face yesterday and got me good, there's a bloody scrape from my nose to my lip now LOL!).

He's definitely always been a busy-body, especially when anyone walks near him. Probably because my RSLs are so mean to him. But yeah he's still moving around a lot and his right leg is not going forward or anything like Marek's usually does so I'm not sure about that yet. I'm trying to stay calm and do what I can for him!
I will start looking up some things on ear infections because I'm not sure how to tell!

He actually really hasn't touched soil a lot recently so I'm not sure if he'd be able to come in contact with anything like that, they're not free-range (too many predators and nowhere to hide) so anything they eat/get ahold of is pretty monitored by us. I assume neurological issues from all of that stuff would be permanent though?

I will also look into some vitamins!! We do give this one electrolytes/vitamin in their water occasionally, this one: http://www.amazon.com/Rooster-Booster-Vitamins-Electrolytes-Lactobacillus/dp/B00KMNTYHK but maybe I need a different one? And maybe I should concentrate it for him only so he gets a good dose?

Thank you so much!!!! I really appreciate it, Albedo can be a jerk (hence my injury), but I love him a bunch, he's my baby

 

[Eggcessive]

I would just give the Rooster Booster vitamins as directed in the water--he will get enough.

 

[ozu]

Thanks for your help!

I've been assuming it's probably? Marek's since his legs are now paralyzed... Though, both of his legs are to the front. He can move them a bit but he can't stand, every time I prop him up his legs shoot forward and he pushes himself back... I don't know if he can feel his toes because I gave them a little squeeze and he didn't react... I have him propped up on towels so his legs aren't strained too much from being in a weird position..

He's separated from the flock now and I have him in my bathroom in the house. I've been caring for him pretty extensively. He's still alert and has an appetite. I'll be keeping a close eye on his progress. I've also been giving him vitamins (poly vi sol without the iron) and mixing a special feed up together for him even. I don't think my parents are very happy to have a crowing rooster in the house lol... but... he's my baby. I'm doing my best for him right now...

Any further input is much appreciated.

 

[ozu]

It really probably is Marek's.... here's my poor boy in his new setup in my bathroom… the towels I had for him- he kept falling back and that made him get really messy.. so now he has a sling with holes for his legs and a piece of puppy pad under his booty so his poop is an easy clean-up. I need to move his water dish a bit more forward don’t mind that.
We’ve been asking around and calling a bunch of places because we’re gunna have to put him down (we can't do it) :-( We might have found a lead, my mom’s calling for me tomorrow because I will cry a lot on the phone if I do it… Marek’s sucks… :-(


Note: He looks ‘sad’ in this picture but he’s actually just looking at the food in front of him, which is a weird mix I made to make sure he gets lots of vitamins and nutrients. Plus he really loves it, so I might as well spoil my baby boy while he is still here with us....

Thank you again for those who tried to help.

 

[Eggcessive]

The sling you made is good to keep him clean, and to get him up off the floor. I'm sorry that his legs are worse. You may want to get a necropsy on his body if he dies, just to know if you have Mareks in your flock, since it remains in the environment for many years. It also could turn out to be something other than Mareks. It looks like you are taking very good care of him, and I'm sure that it will be hard to lose him.