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I have a young chicken who is now not using her feet they are just collapsed, she doesn't spread them. She is putting weight on her one leg. She felt thin also and I found a thin thread of plastic she had partially swallowed and I pulled that out. I have feed her manually (food and water) and she is beginning to eat on her own but she is still not using her feet. I saw a post similar to this on another website but no one had answered yet. Please help.Thank you
Optional Information: Type of Animal: Chicken Gender: Female Age: 3 months Name of Bird: None Already Tried: Separated from other birds, resting and making sure she is eating and drinking.
Hi I'm DR Deb How old is this chicken?where did you get her?
Do you have others? Is this one new to your flock,or did you get them all together?
Are her legs crumpled or bent? Are her feet swollen?
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I'm sorry I didn't realize you could not see my answer- or really more questions. I will find some specific links to this problem, I would still like to know where you got her? Was it a commercial hatchery where they would have been vaccinated? Are the birds of different ages in your flock and have come at different times? Stay tuned for more info.
I bought 6 babies at the local feed store about 3 months ago. I do have one older chick that is about 6 months old that is with the other 6. I also have 7 older chickens that are not with the 7 younger ones. Her feet do not look swollen, nor are they bent. I have gone over them to see if any place is tender to her with no reactions. She is the only one that is doing this. I did pull a thread from a tarp she had stuck in her mouth. It was rather long and I'm sure it was down deep in her system. Since she felt so light, I thought maybe that was keeping her from eating and drinking so I feed her directly giving her plenty of water (thinking she may be dehydrated) She is beginning to eat on her own and she did have normal looking stools this morning.
Some causes of this problem could be trauma- from other chickens, Marek's disease. lead poisoning, certain nutritional problems plus more. Here are some websites with more information,http://www.millerhatcheries.com/Information/Diseases/marek_disease.htmhttp://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/disviral.htm#marhttp://www.ehow.com/how-does_4842865_diagnosing-chicken-diseases.htmlI would have concerns about the Marek's disease virus, you might ask the feed store if their chicks are vaccinated. It is not that rare for only 1 in a handful of chicks to show signs. If this chicken were to die, try to get a poat mortem exam to determine the cause of death- so you will know if the other birds are at risk.If you read any of this material and you have any questions, please just ask, I would be happy to help.
Experience: I am a veterinarian, I kept chickens for 20 years with special rare breed interest
Thank you for your accept. If you have any follow up questions in the near future I would be happy to continue this discussion, these extra questions rarely cost more, I just want to make sure you have all the information you need.hanks again and best of luck with your flock.
Would it be helpful to have the rest of the flock vaccinated now? I have her isolated. I bleached the chicken tractor that the remaining babies are in. I was eventually going to combine the babies and the adult birds once the babies were older. Can I still do that since we don't know if the other babies have Marek's? Would a vet be able to diagnose Marek's with a blood sample? Trying to keep the cost down but still want to make sure I'm doing what is best for all of them. I saw a post that St. John's Wort sometimes helps the chickens with Mareks. What do you think? Thanks for your help, I thought of all these questions last night after I had rated your help.
I am consulting with a professional poultry production vet about vaccinating in the face of an outbreak. I will let you know soon.
I have not heard back from my friend. My feeling is that the others have already been exposed and I don't think vaccinating them will help. About 50% of birds exposed will get sick from Marek's and of those 100% will die. I hope your older birds were vaccinated. I would keep the other young ones separate from the adults for at least another month. Older birds tend not to be quite as affected, if they were vaccinated- all the better. We really don't know for sure what this is and I would not do any vaccinating unless you have a positive diagnosis, the best way to get this is by a post mortem exam if a bird dies. One may die without showing any signs- I would still test any bird that dies. Maybe it is something else???
Good Morning,I heard back from my friend who is a veterinarian for a large poultry business. I often ask questions of him if I need more information.A summary of what he said-Is it really Marek's? age is right, other signs can include blindness and internal tumors. If one of them dies it would be very helpful to know if it is Marek's. The virus is spread in feather dander so if it is Marek's then others have already been exposed. Vaccinating those will not likely be beneficial. It would be very important to make sure any birds you add to your flock for several years are vaccinated before you get them.The vaccine is very effective when given at a young age. the virus is persistent in the environment so could remain in your coop for an extended period,The best thing you could do would be to get a definitive diagnosis, then you would know for sure how to proceed and what you could expect. If you need a dead bird examined- you should look for a state veterinary lab, unless you have a very knowledgeable chicken vet in your area, Sometimes there is a minimal charge if done by a state lab. If I know what state you are in I may be able to do a search for a lab near you. If your affected bird recovers it is likely not Marek's disease. If it is Marek's then other birds may not show signs for weeks to even months.I hope this helps,If the affected bird seems blind, that would be more evidence that it is Marek's. Keep me posted.
i will keep you up to date
thank you, I hope thing work out for the best
I hit the wrong button on my Blackberry on Friday. I am satisfied with your answer. I have contacted the service staff to try to fix. So sorry. You have done a great job with helping me.
The help desk said for you to re-post your answer so that I can leave an excellent rating. I'm really sorry for this confusion. I hate typing on Blackberrys.
We had the chicken put down and I took the remains to be tested. Hope to hear something today or tomorrow. Hoping it was something other than Marek's. So far the other chickens are acting ok. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks again, you were truly a great help.
repost previous answer per client requestGood Morning,I heard back from my friend who is a veterinarian for a large poultry business. I often ask questions of him if I need more information.A summary of what he said-Is it really Marek's? age is right, other signs can include blindness and internal tumors. If one of them dies it would be very helpful to know if it is Marek's. The virus is spread in feather dander so if it is Marek's then others have already been exposed. Vaccinating those will not likely be beneficial. It would be very important to make sure any birds you add to your flock for several years are vaccinated before you get them.The vaccine is very effective when given at a young age. the virus is persistent in the environment so could remain in your coop for an extended period,The best thing you could do would be to get a definitive diagnosis, then you would know for sure how to proceed and what you could expect. If you need a dead bird examined- you should look for a state veterinary lab, unless you have a very knowledgeable chicken vet in your area, Sometimes there is a minimal charge if done by a state lab. If I know what state you are in I may be able to do a search for a lab near you. If your affected bird recovers it is likely not Marek's disease. If it is Marek's then other birds may not show signs for weeks to even months.I hope this helps,If the affected bird seems blind, that would be more evidence that it is Marek's. Keep me posted.