What's causing paralysis in my hens foot??

[MiniChickenMommy]

Hello everyone,
For almost 2 weeks now, my hen Pearl has a completely paralysed lower left leg and foot. I've had her to the vets twice already (costing over £70 each time), but they can't be sure what is causing the issue and how to treat it. So far, they have given her a weeks worth of baytril, which did absolutely nothing, and then 2 days ago we went back and she had 2 shots of cortisone and has had 1 tablet crushed in 1ml of water per day since. However, no improvement is visible as of yet. She also lost about 140g in weight in the week that she was having the baytril, from 780g on the day of the first vet trip down to 640g a few days ago. She does seem to be eating and drinking as usual, so I dont understand what couldve caused this weight loss??
Back to the leg, the vet doesn't think there is a break or fracture anywhere as there is no redness/heat/swelling/crackling or crunching of the bones. But she has suggested an xray to see if they can see what's going on. I however am not willing to pay for this as it would cost approx. £200-£250, which I quite frankly dont have, & as she is so small there is a risk she could die under sedation.
I've also been adding vitamins and probiotics to her food for the past week to rule out a vitamin deficiency, but again there hasnt been any noticeable improvement.

Does anyone have any idea what this could be or experienced anything similar with a hen? Is she ever going to get use of her leg back? Shes only about 2/3 yrs and such a sweet little girl
Thanks for reading.

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you added any new birds to the flock in the past few weeks or months who might have been a carrier of the Mareks virus? Have you had any unexplained deaths or lame birds before? Was she vaccinated for Mareks? A leg injury that has affected her sciatic nerve might be possible. Is there any green bruising, swelling, or redness on the leg? Are the toes of the foot curled under? Has she laid eggs recently? Can you make sure that she can reach food and water?

 

[MiniChickenMommy]

Have you added any new birds to the flock in the past few weeks or months who might have been a carrier of the Mareks virus? Have you had any unexplained deaths or lame birds before? Was she vaccinated for Mareks? A leg injury that has affected her sciatic nerve might be possible. Is there any green bruising, swelling, or redness on the leg? Are the toes of the foot curled under? Has she laid eggs recently? Can you make sure that she can reach food and water?

Thanks for your reply.

No it's not mareks, we only have 2 chickens, Pearl and Roo. Roo is completely fine and healthy, ruling out any viral infections. There are no marks or visible injuries on her leg whatsoever and her leg is just floppy, toes are straight but do not move.
She hasnt yet started laying again this year, last year she started on easter sunday which is only a few days away.
And yes food and water are in easy reach. She is able to hop around and does still move around, but I have confined her to the dog crate atm to see if rest will help.

 

[Perris]

sorry to read about this; is she a bantam or a large fowl? She's really underweight if she's a large fowl, and I'd be offering her tinned sardines, milk-soaked bread, live mealworms, banana, currants or raisins, or anything else that's easy to digest. Worry about the leg when you know she's not going to die of starvation.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would offer some human super B complex 1/4 tablet a day which can be crushed and added to a spoonful of water or food. That might help if there is a vitamin deficiency or injury. If a vet is a possibility, an xray might be helpful if there is a fracture.

 

[MiniChickenMommy]

sorry to read about this; is she a bantam or a large fowl? She's really underweight if she's a large fowl, and I'd be offering her tinned sardines, milk-soaked bread, live mealworms, banana, currants or raisins, or anything else that's easy to digest. Worry about the leg when you know she's not going to die of starvation.

Hello,
Thanks for your reply.
She is a bantam- she was a healthy weight for her size at 780g as she really is tiny. I'm not worried about her dying of starvation as she does eat alot lol! She mostly always has a full croup.

 

[Perris]

that's good to hear! I'll flag up a few more people who may recognize the symptoms (Eggcessive is very knowledgeable and has already answered; maybe they have something else to add).
@azygous @coach723 @dawg53 @Wyorp Rock can any of you help here please?

 

[azygous]

Yes. I've had this show up in my flock. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...update-now-another-pullet-going-lame.1432738/

I had some degree of success treating with B-vitamins and E but it turned out to be an avian virus for which there is no treatment.

 

[dawg53]

It's possible she mightve sprained or strained a ligament or tendon from jumping down off a high roost or another elevated object.
Keep her caged and provide food and water. Vitamin B complex tablets can be crushed into powder and sprinkled over feed as a top dressing for her to eat. The Vitamin B complex may help speed up the healing process.
Keeping her caged will prevent her from further injuring her leg.

Remove her from the cage in about a week and see if there's improvement. If not, put her back in the cage for another week and continue with the Vitamin B complex treatment in her feed. Remove her from the cage in another week and see if there's improvement. Repeat this procedure as necessary.
However, there might be a time where you'll have to make a decision regarding her quality of life.
These types of injuries take time to heal, sometimes a few weeks to several months. I've dealt with them.

My only concern is that these types of injuries normally occur to larger birds ie; standard breeds or heavy breeds.
I've never had a light weight bird have this type of injury.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hard to know unless you have more testing.
Sounds like a good possibility is could be Marek's disease.
I would try to give vitamin support as previously suggested.