Silkie chicken with difficulty walking

[Theel7]

I have a 4 month old silke chicken that about 2 months ago was unable to get into the coop with the rest of the chickens. I took inside and noticed that her leg looked funny and separated her. Slowly she went from being able to walk to not at all, and when she stood up she would fall over and do a split, I treated with vitamins (E and B complex) I thought that she may of had mareks but she has survived this long and none of the other chickens have had it. Just recently she was able to stand again and walk a little i dont know whats wrong and what I should do. I hoping that because she is able to stand that maybe she will get stronger.

 

[Nancy Asselin]

I have a 4 month old silke chicken that about 2 months ago was unable to get into the coop with the rest of the chickens. I took inside and noticed that her leg looked funny and separated her. Slowly she went from being able to walk to not at all, and when she stood up she would fall over and do a split, I treated with vitamins (E and B complex) I thought that she may of had mareks but she has survived this long and none of the other chickens have had it. Just recently she was able to stand again and walk a little i dont know whats wrong and what I should do. I hoping that because she is able to stand that maybe she will get stronger.

Wish I could help... my silkie doing the same

 

[Eggcessive]

@Theel7 could you post some pictures of your silkie’s legs as she normally stands, so that we could see if she could possibly have a leg bone deformity or a slipped tendon? Have you tried giving some vitamin B2 (riboflavin) in case of a deficiency? That is found in human vitamin B complex tablets, and in a few chick vitamins.

Look for curled under toes or the foot to turn in or out. As for the possibility of Mareks disease, there is a $20 pcr blood serum test that can be done on her through this Texas lab:
http://www.vetdna.com/application/forms/aviansubmittalform.pdf
Also, when a chicken dies, and you contact your state vet for a necropsy, they can test for Mareks after death.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is some reading about leg bone deformities:
https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/leg-health-in-large-broilers

This links shows slides of clinical signs of Mareks diseases for you to view:
https://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/#/disease/Marek's_Disease

 

[Nancy Asselin]

@Theel7 could you post some pictures of your silkie’s legs as she normally stands, so that we could see if she could possibly have a leg bone deformity or a slipped tendon? Have you tried giving some vitamin B2 (riboflavin) in case of a deficiency? That is found in human vitamin B complex tablets, and in a few chick vitamins.

Look for curled under toes or the foot to turn in or out. As for the possibility of Mareks disease, there is a $20 pcr blood serum test that can be done on her through this Texas lab:
http://www.vetdna.com/application/forms/aviansubmittalform.pdf
Also, when a chicken dies, and you contact your state vet for a necropsy, they can test for Mareks after death.

I don’t think it deformed because she’s been fine since I got her as a chick. Her legs are sprayed out when she lays down now however

 

[Nancy Asselin]

I don’t think it deformed because she’s been fine since I got her as a chick. Her legs are sprayed out when she lays down now however

 

[Nancy Asselin]

This is a couple of weeks ago, she was fine

 

[Eggcessive]

I don’t think it deformed because she’s been fine since I got her as a chick. Her legs are sprayed out when she lays down now however

It might be good to start a new thread of your own where you can also post pictures. You can do that by clicking the green box here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures.10/

 

[Eggcessive]

Unfortunately it is hard to see anything clearly on her legs due to the feathers. Does the affected leg go outward or aphave curled under toes? Have you (@Theel7 ) looked at any pictures of slipped tendons or leg bone deformities online? If you .google either of those and click on images, there are many pictures that might look similar to what you are seeing. Slipped tendons and bone deformities can get worse as they grow.

 

[Theel7]

I just washed her to avoid pasty butt, I had bought six silkies st from a breeder, and I only have 2 left (this one and a healthy one). I bought them as day olds one had a slipped achiles tendon and the others just died days later. I contacted the breeder and she said its just because they are silkies. She was able to walk just fine and then one day she couldn't i have treated with vitamen E and b complex which includes all b vitamins. None worked so i am trying d3 for rickkets. She is able to sometimes stand up but prefers laying on her side. She will throw herself around the bin to move. Her feathering is bad as well but it may be from her laying down all the time.