Sick chicken, please help!

[azygous]

Yes, we need to address the issue of proper feed for this flock. Layer feed definitely has too much calcium and not nearly enough protein for chicks in their first year of growth. Whether this contributed to the cases of wry neck in the flock is uncertain, but it could definitely have an effect on overall health. If some little thing or other is out of whack, wry neck can strike.

 

[chiki1]

Please don't discount that you have a much larger issue with your flock. I am a trained professional. I am also the first person to argue an internet diagnosis from FB or a forum, and I almost always do, so I'm not saying any of this lightly.

The leg split is a classic sign of Marek's and only Marek's, any Vet will tell you that. There's also a very weird symptom with a very virulent strain of Marek's that causes intermittent full body paralysis, usually only in broiler chickens.

Your state lab offers free consultations, call them in the morning and they will tell you the same thing I am: 207.581.3874
https://extension.umaine.edu/veterinarylab/poultry/

You can also listen to this podcast episode for more information:
https://www.breedersacademy.com/ep88-mareks-disease-with-dr-rodrigo-gallardo/

There are many possibilities for how they got infected, and you may never figure it out. The onset of laying can be stressful enough to cause a flare up. Vaccinated day-old chicks that come into contact with other chickens within 7 days can infect others. Something you can do is check the rest of them for tumors you might be able to see externally, weird patches of feather follicles, or something weird about anyone's eye. Any one of those things could mean that they are an asymptomatic carrier, but some never show any signs or symptoms at all. There is no cure for Marek's, and it can survive in the soil for years after the hosts are gone.

Good Luck.

I think we possibly figured out what's happening with the chicken. It looks like she hadn't been eating, causing her crop to get smaller and having her neck not supported as much.. She does have an eye infection that we know for sure. We've given her water and Vitamin E and she does a lot better once the Vitamin E and food is into her system.. By what you said though, I think one of our other birds had Marek's. Her legs collapsed and she was in a similar position to the splitting, before both her legs gave up completely and went behind her.. She couldn't move except for her head.. Thank you so much for the help

 

[chiki1]

Yes, we need to address the issue of proper feed for this flock. Layer feed definitely has too much calcium and not nearly enough protein for chicks in their first year of growth. Whether this contributed to the cases of wry neck in the flock is uncertain, but it could definitely have an effect on overall health. If some little thing or other is out of whack, wry neck can strike.

I was unsure if we had boughten layer feed since they were chicks, as my mother gets it for them. We did not feed them layer feed since then and have only started recently.. That was my mistake.