Two chicken issues:

[Tolyn Ironhand]

I have a flock of 12 chickens. This is our first year and first flock. All are doing well except these two.
We have a Barred Rock that has very twisted toes and has trouble walking stumbling a bit as it goes. It can get to food and water just fine and is growing approximately the same as the others. The other thing is it's eyes. They look cloudy (like cataracts) and it does not react to fast movements like others. Here are some picts:
Barred eye

Barred foot

The RIR I just found out today also has the cloudy eyes after I brought it out into the sun. Both of them pretty much stay in the coop. The RIR can get around better than the Barred but also has twisted toes. Again, it eats just fine and is aprox the same size as the others. Here are some picts:
RIR eye

RIR feet

There is nothing that they could have gotten into because they pretty much will stay within 20' of the coop and I don't have anything around anyway. I raised them from chicks. Fed them medicated starter for the first bag and then non medicated starter the 2nd bag. Now they are on grower feed. They got the twisted toes later and were not like that when they were chicks. I am not sure when the eyes got cloudy because it didn't I couldn't tell until I brought them into the sun. I did also add Poly-si-mol (??) with out iron to the water when I saw the Barred having issues and I do have about 4 other chickens with some form of twisted toes but they get around fine and have no sight issues.

My questions are this:

Is there something I can do/should have done to prevent any of this?

Are they safe to eat?

Should I cull/butcher the Barred and RIR now?

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

I would not eat them but it is personal choice

they have a type of mareks
with the eye
and as for the feet
that could have been from the hatching and the incubator could have been too hot
as it will cause trouble getting out of the egg shell and the toes curl

the chickens feet needed straightened immediately with the chick shoe that DCTownsend has on line

possivle put in search
crooked toes or chick shoe and see if it comes up
orthopedics made easy is the title of the article

there is not any thing that will actually help cure either of the two things wrong with the birds

but you could give wet mash probiotic with Vit E, Vit B complex and that will make their body healthier
email me any questions

 

[LoveMyChicklets]

Quote:
What is mareks? I have an old chicken whose eyes look just like that, I figured she was pretty much blind......

 

[Tolyn Ironhand]

Quote:
Should I remove them from the flock?