Wobbly leg

[MYon]

Hi! I have a 23 week old Golden Laced Wyandotte that started with a wobbly leg this evening. Now, I was at work all day, so this could have started earlier. I noticed her hobble and began to watch her closely. It appears as though her hock joint is moving side to side, like it jolts to the side as she steps. I've spent the last few hours reading and have determined either possible injury or vitamin issue. I just switched them over to layer feed yesterday, should I not have? I tried to examine her leg after they went in the coop for the evening, but she did a fair share of "freaking out" and wound up flying out of my hands and landing on my shoulder. I didn't want to stress her any more, so lowered my shoulder to the roost and let her hop off. To be fair, we didn't get these chickens until they were 15 weeks old and we don't handle them very much.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It appears as though her hock joint is moving side to side, like it jolts to the side as she steps. I've spent the last few hours reading and have determined either possible injury or vitamin issue.

Can you post a video of how she moves along with some photos of her, the legs, joints, etc.? (for video, upload to youtube or similar platform then provide us a link)

Do what you can to examine the leg - look for redness, swelling at the joint, etc.

You may need to wait until it's fully dark to remove her from the roost. If you have a helper, that would be good. Since she is flighty, swaddle her loosely in a towel to capture her wings and cover her head, this gives you more control so you can examine the legs.

 

[MYon]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14xEJBARFcKMhyn0Aac0cv7HvCKAkSkdD/view?usp=sharing


Ok, we had to leave first thing this morning, so I got video, but couldn't get it uploaded. It appears to be both legs. In this video you can see Honey, the one I'm concerned with, as well as the only other 3 chickens we have. 2 Golden Laced Wyandotte's and 2 Black Australorps. All of these girls are the same age. In the video you can see her feathers and eyes well (everything I read online lead to Merek's Disease, but her eyes aren't discolored). We haven't been home long, so I haven't watched her since I took the video this morning. I will check to see if she is roosting with the others or if this is hindering her ability to get up there. I feel like the last few seconds of video is best for you to see what her legs are doing. Just in cases it did have to do with food, I switched them back to the grower feed, but they still have access to the oyster shells if need be. I'm going out to check them now and will let you know if I see anything else.
*I have not tried to touch her yet*

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Great video!

She and the rest are lovely
Poor dear, I'm inclined to think she may have a leg bone deformity or something along those lines. The hocks look like they are almost disjointed.

Let's see if @Eggcessive or @coach723 have other ideas.

I would keep her on a feed that is 18-20% protein and add B2 (Riboflavin). You can find it in poultry vitamins or use human B-Complex (1/2tablet daily).

As for Marek's, that is always a possibility in birds. Just for more information and clarification - there are 4 "types" of Marek's. "Ocular Form" affects the eyes (gray eye), "Cutaneous Form" affects the skin (lesions/tumors), "Visceral Form" affects the internal organs (tumors) and "Neural" affects the nervous systems (paralysis, wry neck, etc.).
Now...sometimes a chicken can have more than one "form" affect them - let's say they can have both Neural and Visceral form where they have leg paralysis or wry neck, but upon examination (necropsy) tumors on the internal organs are also found. Make sense?

 

[MYon]

Oh! Thanks for the clarification on the Merek's! This is why you don't type "wobbly legs of chicken" in the google search bar!
I agree with the disjointed look, but just odd to me that it has come on sudden. I was just out with them and she's getting around just fine and stays together with everyone. We let them out of the run in the evenings and weekends when we're home. I'll head to the store for B2 in a bit. I greatly appreciate your assistance!

*Note: we lost our entire flock to predators back in July, which my son didn't handle well, so he immediately panicked that her wobble legs meant immediate death for her. This info will settle him*

 

[coach723]

I've never seen anything quite like it. I think a joint deformity is a possibility. I found one mention of degenerated leg muscles, called white muscle disease, caused by a selenium deficiency. Wonder if her upper legs feel as muscular/filled out as her peers?
Found that mention here, almost 1/2 way down the page under 4+ weeks: https://thisnzlife.co.nz/odd-reasons-your-chicken-might-be-lame/
Also found this article, if it is a form of perosis then supplementing manganese and and making sure the calcium/phosphorus ratio in the feed is 2:1 is important. You might try adding some brewers yeast to the diet as this article mentions an "unidentified factor in dried brewers yeast". Hock deformities starts on the first page (which is page 93- old article but still good info): https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2059&context=iowastate_veterinarian
If it's nutritional that particular bird may have a genetic difference that makes it different than the rest of the flock on the same diet.
She's a very pretty bird!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Oh! Thanks for the clarification on the Merek's! This is why you don't type "wobbly legs of chicken" in the google search bar!
I agree with the disjointed look, but just odd to me that it has come on sudden. I was just out with them and she's getting around just fine and stays together with everyone. We let them out of the run in the evenings and weekends when we're home. I'll head to the store for B2 in a bit. I greatly appreciate your assistance!

*Note: we lost our entire flock to predators back in July, which my son didn't handle well, so he immediately panicked that her wobble legs meant immediate death for her. This info will settle him*

Hopefully vitamin therapy will work for her. I really don't know what else to try.
I see that @coach723 has given you some good reading to do (me too, I'm going to have to check out those links!)

I'm sorry to hear that you lost your other flock in July to predators, how sad and devastating that must have been.
Do know, that sometimes chickens with leg issues can get worse, as they grow and gain weight, sometimes the legs are not able to support them. It can always be a worry, chickens steal our hearts so quickly. Take each day at a time, enjoy and love her (I'm sure she gets lots of love from your son!) Even if it's something that can't be fixed and she declines, life is still sweeter while she is here.

 

[MYon]

I've never seen anything quite like it. I think a joint deformity is a possibility. I found one mention of degenerated leg muscles, called white muscle disease, caused by a selenium deficiency. Wonder if her upper legs feel as muscular/filled out as her peers?
Found that mention here, almost 1/2 way down the page under 4+ weeks: https://thisnzlife.co.nz/odd-reasons-your-chicken-might-be-lame/
Also found this article, if it is a form of perosis then supplementing manganese and and making sure the calcium/phosphorus ratio in the feed is 2:1 is important. You might try adding some brewers yeast to the diet as this article mentions an "unidentified factor in dried brewers yeast". Hock deformities starts on the first page (which is page 93- old article but still good info): https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2059&context=iowastate_veterinarian
If it's nutritional that particular bird may have a genetic difference that makes it different than the rest of the flock on the same diet.
She's a very pretty bird!

Thank you! I definitely plan to feel around on her legs when she goes in for the night. I know that we've had them for several weeks, but I've been taking it slow on gaining their trust. I didn't figure stressing them unnecessarily was worth it. They just now, this week, would come to me when I take out special treats like strawberry tops and cucumbers. I'll try to compare how her legs feel.
You mention a genetic difference, which makes one thing come to mind. We got them from a chicken farm at 15 weeks. She didn't have tail feathers. I didn't think anything of it, due to the fact that they came from a pin that housed several other birds her age, a hen and a rooster. She didn't have bare skin, her long tail feathers just weren't there. Then 2 weeks ago they grew in, like over night! We had 3 solid days of rain, so we didn't spend much time outside and they stayed under coop under shelter. The rain stopped and suddenly she had feathers. So, now you have me thinking that she is slightly different as far as genetics go.
I'm going to read the article you suggest and try what I can. We'll just take it one day at a time!

 

[MYon]

Hopefully vitamin therapy will work for her. I really don't know what else to try.
I see that @coach723 has given you some good reading to do (me too, I'm going to have to check out those links!)

I'm sorry to hear that you lost your other flock in July to predators, how sad and devastating that must have been.
Do know, that sometimes chickens with leg issues can get worse, as they grow and gain weight, sometimes the legs are not able to support them. It can always be a worry, chickens steal our hearts so quickly. Take each day at a time, enjoy and love her (I'm sure she gets lots of love from your son!) Even if it's something that can't be fixed and she declines, life is still sweeter while she is here.

Yes, I have a lot of reading ahead. The first thing in my mind was common leg issues I've heard about with rapid weight gain and such. We will give her what we can and take every day as it comes. I am appreciative of this sight and the people who are willing to help!

 

[MYon]

I've never seen anything quite like it. I think a joint deformity is a possibility. I found one mention of degenerated leg muscles, called white muscle disease, caused by a selenium deficiency. Wonder if her upper legs feel as muscular/filled out as her peers?
Found that mention here, almost 1/2 way down the page under 4+ weeks: https://thisnzlife.co.nz/odd-reasons-your-chicken-might-be-lame/
Also found this article, if it is a form of perosis then supplementing manganese and and making sure the calcium/phosphorus ratio in the feed is 2:1 is important. You might try adding some brewers yeast to the diet as this article mentions an "unidentified factor in dried brewers yeast". Hock deformities starts on the first page (which is page 93- old article but still good info): https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2059&context=iowastate_veterinarian
If it's nutritional that particular bird may have a genetic difference that makes it different than the rest of the flock on the same diet.
She's a very pretty bird!

Where may I find dried brewer's yeast?