Canadian Chicklet
Hatching
- May 25, 2025
- 3
- 0
- 4
Apologies in advance for the long post. I'm hoping that someone can give me advice on how to proceed with my flock. I purchased 5 barred rock chicks that were 2 weeks old on May 4th, 2025. They seemed healthy and we didn't have any problems until 2 weeks ago.
I was cleaning their coop on May 28th, 2025 when I noticed that two of the chicks (they were all 5 ½ weeks old at that time) were limping and favouring one leg. After inspecting closer, I noticed that both the chicks' feet that they were not standing on were curled inward toward their other foot. I immediately took to the internet to research and learned that it appeared to be "Curly Toe Paralysis" and that it could be corrected with giving vitamins in their water. We had also had just switched them from Chick Starter to Layer Crumble a couple days prior to these symptoms (which I know was a horrible mistake and it was corrected on the same day the symptoms started), so I was hoping that the symptoms may have been caused by the change in nutrients in their feed. So we switched them back to the Chick Starter on May 28th, 2025 and I started adding POUL-VITE 100 G A poultry vitamin water soluble premix vitamins to their water the next evening. We also had just opened the coop to allow them to explore outside in an enclosed fence during the daytime.
I left the 2 sick chicks in the coop with the other 3 healthy chickens for a couple of days and hoped that the vitamins would start to help them. However, both of the sick chicks quickly got worse and one seemed to be developing Curly Toe Paralysis in its other leg as well. I brought both chicks inside and hand fed/watered them for almost a week. The chicks did not seem to improve at all, but would happily eat and drink when I placed them directly in front of the food and water dishes. They couldn't walk, and would just flop around every time they tried to move and was pooping on themselves. Their poop was diarrhea when I first brought them inside, but quickly turned to normal chicken poop. I assume because I was hand feeding and watering them.
During this time I was still relentlessly researching what could be wrong with the two chicks. I then stumbled upon Marek's Disease. The two chicks eventually developed the splayed legs - one leg stretched out front and one leg stretched out back. Sometimes one leg was pulled close to their body and the other was out straight. Their combs also got extremely pale.
I contacted my local chicken vet on June 2nd, 2025 and she suggested that we test for Coccidiosis first to rule that out, then we could consider testing for Marek's Disease. The results came back negative for Coccidiosis on June 3rd, 2025. We euthanized one of the sick chicks so that we could send it in to test for Marek's Disease on June 4th, 2025.
We put the other sick chick back in the coop with the healthy chicks (whom haven't had any problems and seem as healthy as can be) while waiting for the results to see if maybe it would do better there.
The results came back NEGATIVE for Marek's Disease on June 9th, 2025. I'm overjoyed with the result, but I am also extremely confused and a bit skeptical.
What else could this be?
- stiff feet and toes, curled inwards
- one leg tucked close to body and one leg out straight
- ruffled, puffed up feathers, and appears dirty
- seems depressed and isolates itself away from other chicks, sits in corner of the coop
- very pale and dry looking comb
- diarrhea, but I think that's due to starvation and dehydration from not being able to reach the dishes
- affectes only 2 birds in the coop, the other 3 birds seem perfectly healthy.
Is there anything I can do to help the remaining sick chick? Does this seem to be a sickness or an injury? Did I do something wrong?
The pictures attached aren't actually my chickens, but the pictures are exactly how my chickens look.
Thank you for reading my story and thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.
I was cleaning their coop on May 28th, 2025 when I noticed that two of the chicks (they were all 5 ½ weeks old at that time) were limping and favouring one leg. After inspecting closer, I noticed that both the chicks' feet that they were not standing on were curled inward toward their other foot. I immediately took to the internet to research and learned that it appeared to be "Curly Toe Paralysis" and that it could be corrected with giving vitamins in their water. We had also had just switched them from Chick Starter to Layer Crumble a couple days prior to these symptoms (which I know was a horrible mistake and it was corrected on the same day the symptoms started), so I was hoping that the symptoms may have been caused by the change in nutrients in their feed. So we switched them back to the Chick Starter on May 28th, 2025 and I started adding POUL-VITE 100 G A poultry vitamin water soluble premix vitamins to their water the next evening. We also had just opened the coop to allow them to explore outside in an enclosed fence during the daytime.
I left the 2 sick chicks in the coop with the other 3 healthy chickens for a couple of days and hoped that the vitamins would start to help them. However, both of the sick chicks quickly got worse and one seemed to be developing Curly Toe Paralysis in its other leg as well. I brought both chicks inside and hand fed/watered them for almost a week. The chicks did not seem to improve at all, but would happily eat and drink when I placed them directly in front of the food and water dishes. They couldn't walk, and would just flop around every time they tried to move and was pooping on themselves. Their poop was diarrhea when I first brought them inside, but quickly turned to normal chicken poop. I assume because I was hand feeding and watering them.
During this time I was still relentlessly researching what could be wrong with the two chicks. I then stumbled upon Marek's Disease. The two chicks eventually developed the splayed legs - one leg stretched out front and one leg stretched out back. Sometimes one leg was pulled close to their body and the other was out straight. Their combs also got extremely pale.
I contacted my local chicken vet on June 2nd, 2025 and she suggested that we test for Coccidiosis first to rule that out, then we could consider testing for Marek's Disease. The results came back negative for Coccidiosis on June 3rd, 2025. We euthanized one of the sick chicks so that we could send it in to test for Marek's Disease on June 4th, 2025.
We put the other sick chick back in the coop with the healthy chicks (whom haven't had any problems and seem as healthy as can be) while waiting for the results to see if maybe it would do better there.
The results came back NEGATIVE for Marek's Disease on June 9th, 2025. I'm overjoyed with the result, but I am also extremely confused and a bit skeptical.
What else could this be?
- stiff feet and toes, curled inwards
- one leg tucked close to body and one leg out straight
- ruffled, puffed up feathers, and appears dirty
- seems depressed and isolates itself away from other chicks, sits in corner of the coop
- very pale and dry looking comb
- diarrhea, but I think that's due to starvation and dehydration from not being able to reach the dishes
- affectes only 2 birds in the coop, the other 3 birds seem perfectly healthy.
Is there anything I can do to help the remaining sick chick? Does this seem to be a sickness or an injury? Did I do something wrong?
The pictures attached aren't actually my chickens, but the pictures are exactly how my chickens look.
Thank you for reading my story and thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.
