Rooster suddenly can’t walk

[shookyjr]

Hookfang is a 6 month old Easter egger. He was a “pullet” from the bin at Tractor Supply, LOL. 4 weeks ago, he suddenly couldn’t walk. He was perfectly fine one day, then the next day he was hobbling around like an old man. We can’t find any injuries or swelling. His eyes, ears, wings, and breathing seem fine. He is eating, drinking, and pooping as usual, and has no other symptoms that we can see. Skin is good, feathers and comb are fine, legs look good, no mites, he hasn’t lost weight. He holds his head up and is alert, with no other odd behaviors. The rest of the flock is fine. He can move his legs and grip your finger, but not roost or walk. He kind of tiptoes around, hobbling for a few steps, then sits down with his legs in front of him instead of curled under. He still crows, and his temperament is good. We have been giving him 3 cc’s of rooster booster daily, electrolytes in his water, and all-flock feed, for three weeks now. He is isolated from the flock. There were no recent changes to the flock or their diet. I’m not having much luck researching what could be wrong with him; I don’t think it is Marek’s because he can move his legs. Pic in the cage is him now - the standing pic is the day before he stopped walking.

 

[Eggcessive]

Are you using Poultry Cell by Rooster Booster? That has riboflavin or B 2 which is what I would use in case of riboflavin deficiency. Could he have suffered a back injury? I do think that Mareks might be possible. There is a blood test available at RAL lab in TX that costs about $38 total. They send you supplies to collect blood from a toenail and send back for PCR testing for Mareks. I am sorry that he is not getting better. I had a hen who was imbalanced for 5 weeks and finally recovered. Later we found that she had cancer and lash egg material putting pressure on her leg nerves. If you should lose him, and the vitamins do not help, the best way to know what was wrong is to get a necropsy by your state vet.

 

[shookyjr]

Yes, I’m giving him poultry cell...I think he’s a little better! He is starting to tiptoe around his enclosure rather than collapsing all the time. He doesn’t seem to have a spinal injury or anything else visibly wrong. I’ll keep at it and hope we don’t lose him.

Are you using Poultry Cell by Rooster Booster? That has riboflavin or B 2 which is what I would use in case of riboflavin deficiency. Could he have suffered a back injury? I do think that Mareks might be possible. There is a blood test available at RAL lab in TX that costs about $38 total. They send you supplies to collect blood from a toenail and send back for PCR testing for Mareks. I am sorry that he is not getting better. I had a hen who was imbalanced for 5 weeks and finally recovered. Later we found that she had cancer and lash egg material putting pressure on her leg nerves. If you should lose him, and the vitamins do not help, the best way to know what was wrong is to get a necropsy by your state vet.