Second 8 week old chicken w/ limp leg.

[NightHawk123]

I need help. Bad. At 6 weeks old 1 of my silver laces developed a limp leg. I thought a predator may have tried to get her through the wire and hurt her leg. Well, she never got better and ended up not making it. She died 1 week ago. Today I noticed another silver lace in the same grow out pin with a limp leg. She will not use it at all. She is eating fine and drinking fine. I see no sign of injury. But I know now that it has to be some type of illness.

We bought them from a hatchery 2 months ago. The first few weeks they stayed in the brooder in the house. We moved them to the bigger brooder in the barn for a bit and then moved them to the grow out pin. They have always had a sand floor. The grow out pin never gets wet. I feed them grower feed and always clean tap water.

I Have never seen young chickens develop a limp leg. Now this makes 2 with one dead from it.

I need any help I can get. We hatch a lot of chicks and raise a ton of birds. Most of which we keep (over 100) and I have never seen this.

Any ideas??

 

[NightHawk123]

If this one dies also I'm sending it in to the state (NC). My family raises meat birds. Over 100,000 every 3-4 months. I have had chickens for 33 years. I've never seen this. You can only treat a chick or chicken for so many illnesses. I don't see a match with what I know when it come to chickens.

 

[pwand]

It's possible your dealing with Mareks disease. Another disease is ricket in young birds. Is there any other symptoms?

 

[NightHawk123]

None that I can see. I now have a 1 year old silkie roo that will not walk and he is not in the same area.

 

[NightHawk123]

My silky roo just just died as my wife held him. He was fine yesterday. He feels a bit skinny tho.

 

[pwand]

I'm sorry your roo died. What ever is going on seems to be taking them so fast. I would treat them for worms were he was skinny. I know this would be separate from what's going on. Are you going to send him for necropsy?

 

[NightHawk123]

The silky, I'm thinking worms like you said. I checked out the others that were with him and they are not skinny and doing great. One silky just hatched chicks. However, I'm going to worm them all except for the mom and chicks.

The silver laces tho have me stumped. If it's merak's I don't know how to help them. I can vaccinate the others but they have already been vaccinated. The silver lace are showing totally different symptoms. One limp leg. Going to add straight high dose vitamin b to their water today.

 

[pwand]

Dont re-vaccinate the ones already done. My understanding vaccination is only affective when the chicks are hatched.

 

[NightHawk123]

Dont re-vaccinate the ones already done. My understanding vaccination is only affective when the chicks are hatched.

Hmmm. If she dies I can do the necropsy myself or send her off to the state. Many here on the forums would know what to look for as would the state however most of the chickens I've butchered have been health. The rest had small signs of infection or other problems that I refused to eat. I guess I'm doubting my abilities.

 

[pwand]

Send him off to the state.