Suddenly lame chicken

[Tinkertori]

I have a chicken that suddenly went yesterday. we aren’t exact on her age but she is atleast a year old. She had a clutch about two weeks ago so they have been in a seperate little area. On one of there supervised yard outings last night she wouldn’t walk and when she did it it was step, stumble, face plant. I’ve provided pictures of how she lays and pictures of her foot incase anybody can see bumble foot. When I checked on her this morning she seems to not use either now. I can’t feel or see any swelling in her legs either. This is the first time I’ve had a problem like this with an adult chicken. Any advice is wanted

 

[azygous]

This may sound like a totally nutty idea, but do you or someone you know take acyclovir (Valtrex) for cold sores or shingles? If not, do you have a primary care doctor you can call to say you're having a flareup of herpes lip sores and would like a prescription for Valtrex?

This hen may have Marek's which is caused by one of the forms of herpes viruses. She's of the right age, and the symptoms are classic. I've had good luck, as have others, using acyclovir to treat these symptoms. Until the disease produces too many tumors on vital organs, acyclovir can be used effectively to prolong useful life of an afflicted chicken.

Use a pill cutter to cut the pill into quarters and give one quarter per day for about a week. If it works, that's the good news but also the bad news that this is likely Marek's.

 

[Tinkertori]

This may sound like a totally nutty idea, but do you or someone you know take acyclovir (Valtrex) for cold sores or shingles? If not, do you have a primary care doctor you can call to say you're having a flareup of herpes lip sores and would like a prescription for Valtrex?

This hen may have Marek's which is caused by one of the forms of herpes viruses. She's of the right age, and the symptoms are classic. I've had good luck, as have others, using acyclovir to treat these symptoms. Until the disease produces too many tumors on vital organs, acyclovir can be used effectively to prolong useful life of an afflicted chicken.

Use a pill cutter to cut the pill into quarters and give one quarter per day for about a week. If it works, that's the good news but also the bad news that this is likely Marek's.

Not that I know of but I can ask any other signs or symptoms to look for so we can more definitley call it mareks

 

[azygous]

The only way to definitely diagnose Marek's is after death with a necropsy. One of the clinical markers is an enlarged sciatic nerve, but you can't inspect that unless you dissect the thigh after death and you know what the sciatic nerve looks like.

There is no cure for Marek's. You can only hope to be able to control the symptoms so the chicken may have a bit more quality of life before the disease takes completely over.

 

[Tinkertori]

The only way to definitely diagnose Marek's is after death with a necropsy. One of the clinical markers is an enlarged sciatic nerve, but you can't inspect that unless you dissect the thigh after death and you know what the sciatic nerve looks like.

There is no cure for Marek's. You can only hope to be able to control the symptoms so the chicken may have a bit more quality of life before the disease takes completely over.

Okay I will try to get ahold of the medicine if any other ideas pop up please let menkmow

 

[azygous]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

 

[Tinkertori]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

Okay while reading through that I think I am going to try and treat her for a vitamin b deficiency aswell as try and get my hands on the herpes medicine