what to do for the chicken suddenly became lame

[4Hazlenut]

hello everyone! i have a chicken who became lame last week and i thought she may have came down with the Marek's disease even though she had the vaccine. it begin last week. she is eating a small amounts at a time but i have to give her water to drink with syringe. i am not sure if she is unable to see the water or what. She seems to be doing better but she still cannot walk and only can lay on the side and her leg shakes when she is lying down. When i hold her up , she thinks she can walk and she would try to take off running or trying to fly out of my hands but then she would tumble over. she doesn't seems to drink. Her legs doesn't seems to be broken. she has been quite all week but she started to talk again today. we are trying to make a waker for her. Has this happened to anyone's hen before. could use some advice.

 

[azygous]

Yes, I have had this happen to three out of four of my youngest chickens, and it's a mystery. Read my thread if you're interested in comparing symptoms. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...update-now-another-pullet-going-lame.1432738/

I had another thread I made for when the first pullet went lame, but I treated her differently, and she quickly went from bad to worse and I euthanized her. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...with-sprained-leg-not-getting-better.1422485/

When the second and third went lame, I treated them very aggressively with antibiotics and vitamin therapy. The second one to go lame is now recovering. The third to go lame, recovered fully in a matter of a couple weeks. It's been the consensus that these chickens may have a myelin nerve stripping disorder, caused by who knows.

 

[4Hazlenut]

Yes, I have had this happen to three out of four of my youngest chickens, and it's a mystery. Read my thread if you're interested in comparing symptoms. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...update-now-another-pullet-going-lame.1432738/

I had another thread I made for when the first pullet went lame, but I treated her differently, and she quickly went from bad to worse and I euthanized her. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...with-sprained-leg-not-getting-better.1422485/

When the second and third went lame, I treated them very aggressively with antibiotics and vitamin therapy. The second one to go lame is now recovering. The third to go lame, recovered fully in a matter of a couple weeks. It's been the consensus that these chickens may have a myelin nerve stripping disorder, caused by who knows.

Wow!! thank you for sharing your experience. i will try the antibiotics.

 

[Myrshine]

The vaccine isn’t always 100%, it’s leaky and doesn’t always work unfortunately. Sometimes it can bring in the disease as well. Before directly assuming that it is Mareks Disease, there are also other reasons that can cause your chicken to go lame.

1. Leg or foot injury - Check her feet, legs and hips to make sure there is no visible injuries, also feel around gently for anything out of the ordinary.
2. Vitamin deficiency - Sometimes if the birds bodies can’t get or absorb vitamins properly, it can cause motor and other problems. Riboflavin (Vitamin B-12) can cause birds to go “paralyzed” in their legs, wings and even their necks. Best way to treat, is to give vitamins directly in the water for 2-3 weeks, depending on how the bird responds to it. Some birds get up the next day like nothing ever happened, some take longer to heal.
3. Botulism poisoning - Birds that have contracted this bacteria can experience symptoms similar to Mareks as well as a quick death if medical attention isn’t available. Botulism can cause paralysis of the feet, neck, wings and sometimes internal organs, causing them to shut down.
4. Egg bound/egg broke inside - If your bird is actively laying, an egg bound hen may be unable to use her legs properly, making it look like she’s lame. This goes for if an egg breaks inside her reproductive tract, making her weak, sick and a quick death if not treated right away.