What causes paralyses

[Jp rasco]

I have had 2 chickens loose control of there legs it starts slow then one leg just stops working then the other I had to put down one now another has started to do the same what is it and how do I stop it

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Have you gotten any new chickens recently? Are your chickens vaccinated for Marek’s?
Botulism is another possibility, could they have gotten into something while free ranging? Does their feed smell?
There are a lot of other possibilities as well, but the answers to these questions may help narrow it down.

 

[dawg53]

There are many causes for paralysis in chickens, anywhere from vitamin and mineral deficiencies to Marek's disease.
It would be best to contact your local extension office or state agriculture department to find out how to send a bird for necropsy and find out exactly what you're dealing with.

 

[Goosebaby]

There’s no absolute answers we can give you here as to what’s wrong and how to fix it, so like @dawg53 sugested you could send a bird for necropsy or get a vet to look at any of the remaining flock to try and narrow down what this could be.

What the members here can do is make educated guesses, and you can help by answering a few questions.

How old are your birds?

How long did this process take for them to lose the ability to walk, was it several days or weeks? What was the timeline?

Have they been vaccinated for Mereks or Lymphoid Luekosis?

Have you noticed any other symptoms like coughing, sneezing, runny noses, drooling, swelling of the face, wattles, combs, feet, or hocks or weight loss?

Are they eating?

Do their abdomens seem puffy or swollen?

What do their droppings look like? Have you seen Undigested food, more white than usual, bright green, red, or black droppings?

What feed are they eating?

 

[Jp rasco]

They are about 3 months old. Poop looks normal feed is scratch from tractor supply no swelling or abnormal swelling. Takes about a week before they can't walk at all starts with one leg then the other

 

[dawg53]

They are about 3 months old. Poop looks normal feed is scratch from tractor supply no swelling or abnormal swelling. Takes about a week before they can't walk at all starts with one leg then the other

They are 12 weeks old and should be fed chick starter feed until about 18-20 weeks old, not scratch. I suspect you're dealing with a vitamin and mineral deficiency due to only being fed scratch.

 

[Jp rasco]

Ok thank you I will try that today

 

[demonic]

They are about 3 months old. Poop looks normal feed is scratch from tractor supply no swelling or abnormal swelling. Takes about a week before they can't walk at all starts with one leg then the other

Scratch is not supposed to be it’s main food, put all the scratch away for a while and feed them their proper chick pellet food. They probably have some kind of vitamin deficiency.

 

[Goosebaby]

They are 12 weeks old and should be fed chick starter feed until about 18-20 weeks old, not scratch. I suspect you're dealing with a vitamin and mineral deficiency due to only being fed scratch.