runt of the flock; injured Leg/faint wheezing

[bkint]

Hello all,
**scroll down and view replies for photos of bird**
My runt has seemingly fallen ill. A day after i put in perches I observed my runt limping. As soon as i noticed this i put them in a small dog crate. I move them outside when the others are playing in their outdoor run; i move them inside when the rest of the gang goes in for the night. I place the runts cage on a stack of crates to be on the same level with all the rest.
It makes me sad to think I will have to kill the poor fella. Its been about 4 days the first 3 i didnt notice wheezing but just yesterday i did hear it wheezing faintly. It mostly lays down with its leg stretched out a bit. when it stands it also sticks its wing out/same side as injury. Not sure if wing is torqued weird or something or if its just to balance.
The runt itself has been half the size of the others since i got them at 1 week old. they are now roughly 9weeks old. All are well except for the runt. Runts comb looks and little pale and it has always had a lack of feathers in the center of its back. I can see chicken skin through it and he feels a little boney but always has an appetite.
I am at work so i will post some pictures of him/her. I also noticed that the runt has 2 vents? I could be wrong as this is my first time raising chickens but they appear to have 2 vents. I will take a picture of that as well.
To wrap this up I had hoped for this runt to at least make it to its own version of “full grown” i wasnt expecting it to be beautiful just to be its own weird runt self.
When should I kill it? I dont want it to suffer but I also dont want to give up if there is hope. A few of my birds seem to really like the runt and always lay near it as to comfort it ( at least thats what im telling myself :’( lol). I know you’ll need to see pictures I just want to know if anyone else has tried to raise a runt and had success.
I will update post with pictures in a few hours when i get home from work. Thanks so much for reading and for any replies you may have.

 

[Aunt Angus]

How old is it?

Do you see evidence of an injury?

Anything h weird about its eyes/pupils?

What is it's poop like?

 

[bkint]

How old is it?

Do you see evidence of an injury?

Anything h weird about its eyes/pupils?

What is it's poop like?

Chicken is about 8.5 weeks old.
The only evidence i see is that he limps on one leg and wont put pressure on it at all. also the leg stays pretty much bent while it stands. Most of the time it is laying down with injured leg stuck out a bit. Ive picked it up and moved the leg around and it dosnt seem to bother the bird. didnt see the injury happen; I’m assuming he jumped off of perch and landed weird. I had several smaller perches about 8” off the ground and also some at 16”/18” at the time. I noticed the limping right after the first night with the perches installed. Im assuming it had something to do with this. Although it couldve been a trampling or rough play because they are un watched a few hours of the day. I also inspected pretty closely for bumble foot and havnt noticed any bumps/inflammation on injured leg.

Poop is seemingly normal. Mostly semi soft white-ish brown poops with a diarrhea every once in a while. No blood.

I havnt looked at the eyes too carefully. Seems to be slightly drowsy or droopy eyed. What should i be looking for in the pupils?

Thanks again for replying!

 

[Aunt Angus]

Chicken is about 8.5 weeks old.
The only evidence i see is that he limps on one leg and wont put pressure on it at all. also the leg stays pretty much bent while it stands. Most of the time it is laying down with injured leg stuck out a bit. Ive picked it up and moved the leg around and it dosnt seem to bother the bird. didnt see the injury happen; I’m assuming he jumped off of perch and landed weird. I had several smaller perches about 8” off the ground and also some at 16”/18” at the time. I noticed the limping right after the first night with the perches installed. Im assuming it had something to do with this. Although it couldve been a trampling or rough play because they are un watched a few hours of the day. I also inspected pretty closely for bumble foot and havnt noticed any bumps/inflammation on injured leg.

Poop is seemingly normal. Mostly semi soft white-ish brown poops with a diarrhea every once in a while. No blood.

I havnt looked at the eyes too carefully. Seems to be slightly drowsy or droopy eyed. What should i be looking for in the pupils?

Thanks again for replying!

The pupils: Wondering about Marek's since he seems to have mobility issues without visible injury.

Can you get pics of his leg? I'm wondering if it's a slipped tendon or a varus/valgus deformity that showed up later. I have a chick with a slipped tendon that couldn't be corrected. She manages just fine, but I won't put her with my big flock because I'm worried my roosters might squish her.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Also, at this point, I don't see anything happening that leads me to believe euthanasia is called for. Your decision, of course. But a muscular injury or bruised thigh will likely heal fine.

 

[bkint]

Chicken is about 8.5 weeks old.
The only evidence i see is that he limps on one leg and wont put pressure on it at all. also the leg stays pretty much bent while it stands. Most of the time it is laying down with injured leg stuck out a bit. Ive picked it up and moved the leg around and it dosnt seem to bother the bird. didnt see the injury happen; I’m assuming he jumped off of perch and landed weird. I had several smaller perches about 8” off the ground and also some at 16”/18” at the time. I noticed the limping right after the first night with the perches installed. Im assuming it had something to do with this. Although it couldve been a trampling or rough play because they are un watched a few hours of the day. I also inspected pretty closely for bumble foot and havnt noticed any bumps/inflammation on injured leg.

Poop is seemingly normal. Mostly semi soft white-ish brown poops with a diarrhea every once in a while. No blood.

I havnt looked at the eyes too carefully. Seems to be slightly drowsy or droopy eyed. What should i be looking for in the pupils?

The pupils: Wondering about Marek's since he seems to have mobility issues without visible injury.

Can you get pics of his leg? I'm wondering if it's a slipped tendon or a varus/valgus deformity that showed up later. I have a chick with a slipped tendon that couldn't be corrected. She manages just fine, but I won't put her with my big flock because I'm worried my roosters might squish her.

I will take pics of the chicken in 3 hours when im home. Now that you mention it chickens eyes did seem a bit cloudy. And its claws on the wounded leg sort of just lay limp when i pick the chicken up.

 

[bkint]

The pupils: Wondering about Marek's since he seems to have mobility issues without visible injury.

Can you get pics of his leg? I'm wondering if it's a slipped tendon or a varus/valgus deformity that showed up later. I have a chick with a slipped tendon that couldn't be corrected. She manages just fine, but I won't put her with my big flock because I'm worried my roosters might squish her.

Hi i attached some pictures; its the chickens left leg. Also i can move it around with basically no resistance from the bird. However, when the bird is on its own it seems to be able to tuck its left wing and leg back in. Its back is really low on feathers it never really had any always basically bare. That large bump is what i believe to be its thigh jutting through the feathers but im not sure i tried to get some good photos of it. Theres no mites or bugs in there and theres no open wound just bare because of lack of feathers

 

[bkint]

The pupils: Wondering about Marek's since he seems to have mobility issues without visible injury.

Can you get pics of his leg? I'm wondering if it's a slipped tendon or a varus/valgus deformity that showed up later. I have a chick with a slipped tendon that couldn't be corrected. She manages just fine, but I won't put her with my big flock because I'm worried my roosters might squish her.

hey there is some green poop and pupils are kind of big, did you get a chance to browse the pictures i uploaded? what should i do?

 

[Aunt Angus]

Doesn't sound like ocular Marek's. The pupils would be noticeably different from one another. Green poop is fine, as long as it not neon yellow.

Sounds like he just injured himself, like you said. And it will probably be fine, in time. Good news! I also see only one vent. That's what they're supposed to look like. And imagine his comb will be fine once the hormones start really raging.

That spot on his back, though, looks like it could be a cyst, maybe? Is it a lump or just a bald patch of skin? If it's just a bald spot, I'd say he's likely getting picked on. Does he get bullied a lot? I'm wondering if the others are keeping him from eating enough, which might explain his size.

 

[bkint]

Doesn't sound like ocular Marek's. The pupils would be noticeably different from one another. Green poop is fine, as long as it not neon yellow.

Sounds like he just injured himself, like you said. And it will probably be fine, in time. Good news! I also see only one vent. That's what they're supposed to look like. And imagine his comb will be fine once the hormones start really raging.

That spot on his back, though, looks like it could be a cyst, maybe? Is it a lump or just a bald patch of skin? If it's just a bald spot, I'd say he's likely getting picked on. Does he get bullied a lot? I'm wondering if the others are keeping him from eating enough, which might explain his size.

the others dont really pick on him. he’s had that bald spot since day one. it dosnt seem like a cyst to me it looks like its the top of his thigh and only juts out when i hold the chicken and his legs push in. and he has a great appetite. did u notice how the foot is splayed out a bit? his wing also appears to be a little limp; i cant tell if he’s using it for balance or cant really control it. Is there anything i should be doing to help him recover? should i keep him in quarantine ?