Cockerell with athritus

[Pj19701]

Hi . Hoping someone may be able to help me.
I have many individual flocks of various chicken breeds.
I have 2 jersey giant cockerells about 8 months old , 1 is perfect, his brother however has grown to be twice the size . I noticed he suddenly was falling over and had trouble walking. Then spent a lot of time sitting on the ground. His appetite good , his comb good, bright and alert and very friendly. When walking one leg his toes were curled up like walking on his heel kind of? SO took him to the vet who was shocked by his weight (15lb). Said his chest was solid meat .she thought he was too heavy for his legs . His legs , feet are nice healthy and strong with no injuries. She then felt up higher and he went mad . She said he has athritus on his patella joint. ( likely caused by his weight) so advised euthanasia but I wanted to give him a chance, gave me a anti inflammation med to give daily.
He has improved slightly but still struggling. Just wondered if any advice as to what else I can do?
My vet wants me to ring back in a few days , and I'm thinking of asking for an extensive xray to get a full picture of the problem. And if there's a chance il take it to get him well.
Do you think there's any treatment that would work long term? Injections? Weekly meds? Any ideas at all really . Thankyou

 

[arianna7]

ok, lets see. so i was thinkin the curled toes might be a defesincey of some sort and the weight might be over eatin? im not sure if the 2 issues have to do with eachother, maybe try and see if hes eatin the same amount as his brother, fer the weight thing, and maybe try supplements like (glucosamine or omega-3 fatty acids) fer his joints. over all, my opinion is that u should cull em, but i understand that u wanna keep tryin! good luck!

P.S. try ta find threads w/ similar issues by hittin the serch button n th top right of yer screen!

 

[Eggcessive]

How do his ankle and hock joints look? Any swelling there? Do you have any pictures to share? Does he have any sore or scab on his breastbone/keel? I would offer 1/2 tablet daily of human vitamin B complex for his toe curling, in case of riboflavin deficiency. If you later decide to euthanize or cull him, I would have your state vet do a necropsy and testing in case of a bacterial or viral arthritis. Here are the vitamins, and they also sell liquid:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Spring-V...MIuaHLwY3SigMVVTYIBR2RRChpEAQYASABEgIBuvD_BwE

 

[Pj19701]

ok, lets see. so i was thinkin the curled toes might be a defesincey of some sort and the weight might be over eatin? im not sure if the 2 issues have to do with eachother, maybe try and see if hes eatin the same amount as his brother, fer the weight thing, and maybe try supplements like (glucosamine or omega-3 fatty acids) fer his joints. over all, my opinion is that u should cull em, but i understand that u wanna keep tryin! good luck!

P.S. try ta find threads w/ similar issues by hittin the serch button n th top right of yer screen!

Thanks for your reply. He's had a bad day today but il try him on the omega 3 to see if it helps. He eats the same as his brother but couldn't be more different in size. I'm going to bring him indoors to the barn with his brother so it isn't too bad if he collapses down wherever he is at the time. Spoke to vet today and she's suggesting different pain relief , but will see her Friday and take it from there. Thanks again. If I feel his quality of life is really declining then I will take the euthanasia path

 

[Pj19701]

How do his ankle and hock joints look? Any swelling there? Do you have any pictures to share? Does he have any sore or scab on his breastbone/keel? I would offer 1/2 tablet daily of human vitamin B complex for his toe curling, in case of riboflavin deficiency. If you later decide to euthanize or cull him, I would have your state vet do a necropsy and testing in case of a bacterial or viral arthritis. Here are the vitamins, and they also sell liquid:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Spring-V...MIuaHLwY3SigMVVTYIBR2RRChpEAQYASABEgIBuvD_BwE

Hi thank you for your reply. I'm in the UK, but il try get some pictures tomorrow as they tucked up for the night now. That's great il look into the vitamins. He has a vet appt on Friday to look at different meds, but if the worse happens il definitely get a look to see what was the cause.
In the meantime il try the vitamin and il be bringing him and his brother in to the barn for a quiet few days to see if that helps .thanks again

 

[Pj19701]

Hi thank you for your reply. I'm in the UK, but il try get some pictures tomorrow as they tucked up for the night now. That's great il look into the vitamins. He has a vet appt on Friday to look at different meds, but if the worse happens il definitely get a look to see what was the cause.
In the meantime il try the vitamin and il be bringing him and his brother in to the barn for a quiet few days to see if that helps .thanks again

Ps. Sorry forgot to mention. No swellings or scabs , and all joints are OK. The vet said his legs were perfect until she went right up to his body and he went mad. Sure she said his patella joint was swollen