Serama rooster with a broken or dislocated leg

[Debra Aberbom]

My little serama rooster is not using his left leg at all. No swelling, no redness, skin and feet look good. I have been checking out how to splint broken legs for chickens but if it is just dislocated then he doesnt need a splint. Should it still be wrapped. I have him confind in a dog kennel so he can get rest. He is not really eating or drinking much. so maybe and infection ? Husband says no vet for a chicken. But he is my pet and I want to do all I can to help him. Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[WooingWyandotte]

First, welcome to BYC!

How do the skin and feet look? Could you possibly post a picture? I could walk you through it if you need that.

Upper leg breaks are harder to deal with than lower, so where on the leg is the possible break/or which joint is dislocated do you think?

In fact, a whole leg picture would help a lot!

 

[Debra Aberbom]

Hello WooingWyandotte,

His feet and skin look good. I cant see anything that might be going on. No swelling, He wont use the leg at all. Holds it straight out. He either wont or cant move his toes or pull his leg up. He is now not even eating treats. Havent seen him drink. I am giving him electrolytes with probiotics with an eye dropper. I put him on colliodal silver to fight infection. In am will try hand feeding him some mash, wet bread, yougurt anything that I can to get something in him. I will work on posting pictures of his leg. I do not know how to do that so will work on it. Thank you for responding and your help. So worried.

 

[WooingWyandotte]

I understand. Sick chickens are no fun.

Have you considered Mareks disease? I'll post a link to the thread thats all about it.

It sounds like your feeding him great also. Raw apple cider vinegar in the water is very healthy too.

As far as pictures go...In the box you reply in (which i am typing in right now...) has a bar with various different icons on it.

Under the red word Reply is a drop down box that says "Size." To the right of that is another drop down box with an underlined A. Right of that is the font options, "B" for bold, "I" for Italic," "U" for underlined. Right of that is a hairpin thing used for posting clickable links. Simply copy + paste a link into that box and click "Submit" (or something like that) and it will post a link in blue that you can click on to go straight to the website/whatever is at the end of the link.

Finally, to the right of the hairpin is a square with two mountains and a sun. Click on that and you can upload photos from your desktop to there. Hope that helped!

 

[WooingWyandotte]

Mareks article...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

 

[Debra Aberbom]

Hello, read the article on Marek's disease. So was thinking it's a possibility. I didnt even think about his comb turning purple/blue but just in the back or just on tips but then it goes away. He has done this off and on since I have had him so just thought it was normal.
I have 6 new sebright chicks in same room with him and when they are upset he gets upset. He settles when they do so I thought he was in protect mode. Boy, I love my boy but wish I knew more before he was given to me. I feel very guilty about him being hurt or sick and now if it is Marek's then baby chicks exposed. Trying to find out if they were vaccinated for mareks at 1 day old or not. Very frustrated with myself. I never want to be the cause of an animal suffering or being sick. Praying that my roo does not have the disease. UGH !

Still working on pictures for you and if my roos comb is purple I will send that too. He is much happier this afternoon. Eating like crazy and drinking very well. Leg still dragging no movement at all. So ????????????????????

 

[WooingWyandotte]

Hello, read the article on Marek's disease. So was thinking it's a possibility. I didnt even think about his comb turning purple/blue but just in the back or just on tips but then it goes away. He has done this off and on since I have had him so just thought it was normal.
I have 6 new sebright chicks in same room with him and when they are upset he gets upset. He settles when they do so I thought he was in protect mode. Boy, I love my boy but wish I knew more before he was given to me. I feel very guilty about him being hurt or sick and now if it is Marek's then baby chicks exposed. Trying to find out if they were vaccinated for mareks at 1 day old or not. Very frustrated with myself. I never want to be the cause of an animal suffering or being sick. Praying that my roo does not have the disease. UGH !

Still working on pictures for you and if my roos comb is purple I will send that too. He is much happier this afternoon. Eating like crazy and drinking very well. Leg still dragging no movement at all. So ????????????????????

Mareks is nearly always fatal, those who survive are carriers all their life. So its really not good. However not every bird gets Mareks, its really a jumpy disease and no one understands why it attacks certain birds. You said you have chicks in there with him, its possible if he has Mareks they're exposed but whether they actually contract the disease is anyone's guess.

At this point, wait and see. Over time he'll get worse and thinner, and more hungry than he is now.

Sorry, its never easy. If he has Mareks, its just a matter of how long you want to feed him or see him suffer.

I'm kind of paranoid and the moment I see paralysis I cull. I've kept alive too many birds when they should normally have died. Over time bird generations grow resistant if exposed to the disease in the egg and I'm hoping mine are by now (supposedly, don't quote me)...except for that odd one that isn't though its parents were.