I have a 19 month old silkie hen who presented hopping on one foot 6 days ago.
I suspected bumblefoot and found evidence of one tiny bumble on the foot that she was protecting. I moved her indoors, gave her an Epsom salt soak, and removed the scab on her foot, which looked like it had already been healing on its own. The scab was pale, not dark, and the tissue underneath was firm and white. I flushed the wound with Verticyn and put her in an indoor enclosure on fleece with a heat lamp.
The next day she seemed worse and didn't want to walk at all, though she still has an appetite.
When I checked her feet she had developed a water blister on the foot of her "good" leg. The blister was filled with clear fluid.
I started her on Rooster Booster and continued the Epsom salt soaks nightly for the benefit of both feet. She would still stand on the blistered foot, but would constantly hold the other foot out in front of her and would flap defensively to try and keep that foot from touching the ground.
Since she seemed to be in pain and it wasn't improving, I took her to the vet yesterday. He took an X-ray which he said ruled out orthopedic issues. He lanced the blister and confirmed that it only held clear fluid and no signs of infection. He found evidence of healing podo dermatitis (bumblefoot) on the other side but didn't think it was severe enough to explain not hearing weight. His primary suspicion was Marek's.
I felt less confident in that conclusion since she was vaccinated at the hatchery, is 19 months old, and seems more like she is protecting the leg than unable to move it.
The other possibility he suggested was a soft tissue injury, so he sent us home with a weeks worth of Meloxicam to try. He dismissed the idea of a vitamin deficiency since she is fed a commercial diet, but I still wonder whether she had trouble getting food because she is the smallest in the flock.
She is one of three silkie hens in the small pet flock that I keep for hobby in my suburban backyard. Birds are a mix of laying hens aged 6 months to nine years including an Australorp (the oldest bird), some leghorns, leghorn mixes, TSC hybrids, plus the three silkies. Some birds (Australorp, silkies) were purchased from hatcheries vaccinated against Marek's and the others were purchased from TSC as chicks.
Anybody else ever experienced something like this?
I suspected bumblefoot and found evidence of one tiny bumble on the foot that she was protecting. I moved her indoors, gave her an Epsom salt soak, and removed the scab on her foot, which looked like it had already been healing on its own. The scab was pale, not dark, and the tissue underneath was firm and white. I flushed the wound with Verticyn and put her in an indoor enclosure on fleece with a heat lamp.
The next day she seemed worse and didn't want to walk at all, though she still has an appetite.
When I checked her feet she had developed a water blister on the foot of her "good" leg. The blister was filled with clear fluid.
I started her on Rooster Booster and continued the Epsom salt soaks nightly for the benefit of both feet. She would still stand on the blistered foot, but would constantly hold the other foot out in front of her and would flap defensively to try and keep that foot from touching the ground.
Since she seemed to be in pain and it wasn't improving, I took her to the vet yesterday. He took an X-ray which he said ruled out orthopedic issues. He lanced the blister and confirmed that it only held clear fluid and no signs of infection. He found evidence of healing podo dermatitis (bumblefoot) on the other side but didn't think it was severe enough to explain not hearing weight. His primary suspicion was Marek's.
I felt less confident in that conclusion since she was vaccinated at the hatchery, is 19 months old, and seems more like she is protecting the leg than unable to move it.
The other possibility he suggested was a soft tissue injury, so he sent us home with a weeks worth of Meloxicam to try. He dismissed the idea of a vitamin deficiency since she is fed a commercial diet, but I still wonder whether she had trouble getting food because she is the smallest in the flock.
She is one of three silkie hens in the small pet flock that I keep for hobby in my suburban backyard. Birds are a mix of laying hens aged 6 months to nine years including an Australorp (the oldest bird), some leghorns, leghorn mixes, TSC hybrids, plus the three silkies. Some birds (Australorp, silkies) were purchased from hatcheries vaccinated against Marek's and the others were purchased from TSC as chicks.
Anybody else ever experienced something like this?
