slw can't walk suddenly?

[Double Kindness]

Hi, I have had my chickens for 3.5 weeks and they were 3-4 weeks old when I got them. They have been on 26% protein gamebird feed by manna pro and they are destined for freezer camp.

20 min ago I noticed one wasn't able to stand on its feet. I have since brought her inside and she's in my chicken er with a dark blanket over the cage, and I soaked some 18% protein all flock pellets, nutridrench water with some electrolytes and vitamins and gave her a dropper full of straight nutridrench.

What else should I do?

 

[Eggcessive]

Could she have been injured? Around 7 weeks old, so coccidiosis or vitamin deficiency could be problems. Some bone deformities can worsen with age. Symptoms of coccidiosis are lethargy, weakness, puffing up, diarrhea, and poor appetite. Does she have any of those symptoms? Treatment of cocci is Corid or amprollium for 5-7 days. Another possibility is Mareks disease which can cause paralysis in one or both legs or wings.

 

[Double Kindness]

They have had corid in their water for 5 days until today, then I put in nutridrench and electrolytes and vitamins. She's resting in the chicken er in my kitchen with a blanket over it and is calm and her poops look fine.

She can sometimes stand on one foot but she seems content to just sit quietly after she stopped calling for her flockmates.

It's very cold today also, they all look puffy/huddled, but I went to throw grass and dandelion leaves in the run and they all came out to get some except one white leghorn who was roosted up taking a nap (they were all huddled inside the coop).. so I can't tell.

I'm thinking of putting up a heat lamp tonight as it's expected to freeze tonight? She might be injured? I don’t see anything. I had to put a cover over the cage to keep her from trying to stick her head far out of it and having one of my greyhounds eat her..

Should I give her more nutridrench orally as it might be vitamin b deficiency?

 

[Double Kindness]

I want her to have a good life even if she's destined for freezer camp in 2 months or so. She's far too little to eat atm, she was pretty light when I picked her up. She's a feed store straight run chick from privett hatchery I believe.

My bf says it might look neurological? Idk. She's quiet, I don't want to stress her out any more than she is..

 

[Double Kindness]

She seems to be walking better after the nutridrench, but still not 100%.

I'm going to give her another dropper of nutridrench in an hour or so. She's calling for her flockmates atm.

 

[Double Kindness]

Well she's still alive, but not seeming to really improve yet?! She's alert, poops look normal, she's eating, etc. I keep giving her nutridrench orally from the dropper, she's very chatty.

IDK WTD besides this. Should I cull her this weekend?

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry, I have been having trouble getting online since yesterday. I would keep giving her the vitamins orally, or put a B Complex tablet in her water daily so she can take it on her own. It may be a riboflavin or other deficency, so you might give her some time. She could have sprained or broken a leg with all the activity that chicks get into. Can you place her near the others for company, or rotate a different friend in each day?

 

[Double Kindness]

I could go grab one of the sweet br to put in with her

which my bf is going to go do right now.

He felt around her leg, we had a chick recently with spraddle leg and he said this feels like something isn't sitting riggt higher up on her leg. We did some exercises and fiddled with it. What next?

 

[Double Kindness]

It seems like her hips are popping or something like that?

We put a sweet barred rock littermate with her. Her friend likes to hop on my head when I go feed the itty bitty peep peeps (this flocks nickname). They're chit chatting after we were assessing the legs/feet of the injured slw. Slipped tendon? Upper hock or joint issue? She seems healthy and happy besides the whole not walking thing (she scoots around, can sometimes stand on both or one leg) but seems to prefer to stay in the t shirt nest I made her in the chicken kitchen er. I don't want to cull her, but I don't want a chicken in my kitchen for the next 2 months.

 

[seminolewind]

You may be getting very attached to them!