weak legs

[marie]

I'm raising my first 9 chickens (Araucana-supposedly). They are now 8 weeks old and fully feathered. One of them is a bit larger than the others and I suspect that it may be a rooster. I have noticed that s/he cannot stand for long before he sinks down on his hocks to rest. S/he is able to walk around, feed, drink, etc but doesn't ever stand for long. When most of the others roost he just sinks into the bedding and usually a couple of the others join him. When he does walk he doesn't appear to limp at (just slowly sinks). Could this be a growth problem (his legs are bigger and longer looking than the others)? Or is it a disease (that can hopefully be treated)?

 

[sammi]

go ahead and check his feet for any sores or scabs, or any swelling or heat..

if nothing is found..
please say what all do you feed them?

please describe his droppings...(color and consistency).

check his legs/back/hip area for any swelling or heat..
check his crop..at roost time, after eating, it should feel full..
recheck in the morning..it should feel empty.
also check for any lumps or grainy feeling.

see if you can confine him during the day (he can have 1 companion)..to a small area with soft bedding and food and water close by so he can rest the legs, and not have to go far for food, or compete with others.

get some Poly-vi-sol liquid baby vitamins (Enfamil brand..no iron) give 2 drops once a day for a week or so..then taper off..in the meantime try and get some chick vitamins.

try making up this mixture:

“” This amount feeds one bird””

Feed the birds three times a day for three days a mixture of

This mixture is what you will need for the entire three feeds…. It is not 3 egg yolks and 3 teaspoons of honey etc…. divide the contents into three

½ to 1 egg yolk….

1 teaspoon honey…. .given for energy

2 tablespoons yogurt…. Given for calcium and also to make the bowel go back into normal production after this upset
Only use the plain yogurt never the one with fruit or extra sugar in it, not good for the bird

3 to 4 tablespoons rolled oats…. To give substance to the feed, or use chicken crumbles or layer pellets but soften them with some boiling water first

Sprinkle of multi vitamin powder (only if you are not already giving it to them in their drinking water, or giving some other vitamin..don’t overdose) just a few grains will usually be enough for this size mixture

2 to 4 table spoons of apple sauce or grated apple, it must be grated not chopped up for ease of digestion

Mix to make a crumble mixture not runny

If the bird is not eating you will have to force feed... roll into small pellets the same size as a layer pellet.... and force feed, and then massage the neck in a downward motion to get it down into the bird's crop, make sure your keep the neck straight, its really hard getting something down a neck that is bent or curved, the bird may be too weak to eat or have lost the desire to eat…. Don’t hold back…. The longer it goes without this the worse it will get

If you must give it something to drink – only give drops onto the beak, don’t try and pour any fluid down a chickens throat, it will more than likely go into the air passage and into the lungs and end up drowning the bird

 

[snowydiamonds]

When I got 16 chicks from a teacher at our elementary school two had weak legs so I free fed all day, kept warm water available 24 hrs a day and restricted (took away) their feed all night, gave more room for exercise and they got their legs back They are turning out to be very beautiful young birds with a strong will to live and thrive, no leg or feet problems.

 

[marie]

Hi, I've just moved them from Albers Chick Starter to Albers All-Purpose feed. Their droppings are brown and abit loose. I realize now that I made a mistake in not handling them when they were younger because it was quite an ordeal getting ahold of the one with the problem. The guy at the feed store told me not to try to handle them because they find it stressful and wouldn't grow as well. Anyways, I did finally catch him (her?) and spent some time gently exploring his feet, legs and thighs and could not find anything that looked like an injury or swelling. The scales are not rough and sticking out. I caught one of the others to compare to and his feet (pads, nails) seem the same. The one thing that sort of sticks out is the angle of his legs. The others' legs are bent just alittle at the hocks when they are walking and standing and his legs seem to be straighter and longer (like he is stretching). His legs make him almost a head taller than the others. When I was trying to catch him he was able to run pretty good. He has a good appetite and is able to stand at the feeder and water bowl when he wants to eat. It's just seems that he needs to sink down once in awhile to rest. If it is a vitamin thing do you think that I could give them some fresh foods from the garden that would help? I've fenced in a yard for them but I can't let them out until I get some netting over it . We have eagles and red tailed hawks around and I'm afraid they'll try to get my chicks. I live out in the country (NW Oregon coast) not too close to stores but I will call around to see if I can find the things you mentioned (possibly the feed store). Meanwhile I plan to spend alot more time in the coop getting them used to me (they are very curious aobut me). I would love it if they'd let me handle them without traumatizing them ~ Marie

 

[sammi]

put them back on the chick feed..they can stay on that till about 18 weeks..
some transition at about 10-12 weeks to grower feed

8 weeks is too young for adult feed..

give the vitamins I mentioned until you can find some chick vitamins..
the liquid baby vitamins are sold at at any pharmacy including Walmart, and some grocery stores.

are you sure this roo is an Araucana?
could he be a mix of meat bird?

 

[marie]

Okay, I will move back to the chick starter & see if my feed store sells the chick vitamins....Well, the feed store sold me 9 Araucana chicks but after doing some research I'm pretty sure they are not Araucana. They do have the puffy cheek feathers (sooo cute) but it looks as if they have tail feathers (not round rumps). Some of them also have puffs of feathers under their beaks (front of neck). So, I guess they could be Americauna (sp?). The one I'm worried about has much darker markings (dark red, black and brown) than the others but it has the puffy cheeks and it's legs are green like all the others. It also has more feathers on the front of it's neck than the others . I imagine that it could be another breed of chicken. I'm not even sure it is a rooster. S/He's just bigger and has a bigger comb. They all have pea combs but some of them are hardly visible. What did you think about feeding them the thinnings form the garden (mostly greens)? Another thing I wonder about is the floor. It is a fairly large space with a concrete floor. I've spread pine shavings around but they sometimes scratch through to the concrete (especially around the feeder and water jar). I plan to start a layer of straw on top of the pine shavings because it will be better for the garden when we clean out the coop. Could contact with the concrete floor be bothering his/her leg?