Unbalanced/weak legs on hen

[TheLifeWeDrewHomestead]

Hi! I have a 5 Mo old chicks who is having difficulty walking. It looks like weak legs, imbalance, favoring one side over the other. She is missing one toenail and toes have been a little crooked. Nothing has changed in their feed and they have a clean coop, fresh food and water (no mold). I added a larger chicken into their coop, so maybe she’s getting pushed around a bit more? She is eating and drinking enough. This chicken has exhibited similar weakness before but was able to recover after quarantine with additional protein (tuna fish). Does this look like a nutrient deficiency or something else going on?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi! I have a 5 Mo old chicks who is having difficulty walking. It looks like weak legs, imbalance, favoring one side over the other. She is missing one toenail and toes have been a little crooked. Nothing has changed in their feed and they have a clean coop, fresh food and water (no mold). I added a larger chicken into their coop, so maybe she’s getting pushed around a bit more? She is eating and drinking enough. This chicken has exhibited similar weakness before but was able to recover after quarantine with additional protein (tuna fish). Does this look like a nutrient deficiency or something else going on?

Welcome To BYC!
What do you feed your chick?
You can try some extra poultry vitamins for a few days to see if that makes a difference. Use one that has B vitamins, especially B2 (Riboflavin). Poultry Cell would be a good choice or you can use human B-Complex. For a 5mo old I would give 1/4 tablet daily.

You mention that her toes are a little crooked - have they always been crooked? Do you notice if there's any swelling of joints, if she stands knocked kneed or possibly 1 leg turns out?

Another possibility with her age could be Marek's disease. There is no cure. Here's some reading for you.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

 

[glassdragonfly]

 

[TheLifeWeDrewHomestead]

Welcome To BYC!
What do you feed your chick?
You can try some extra poultry vitamins for a few days to see if that makes a difference. Use one that has B vitamins, especially B2 (Riboflavin). Poultry Cell would be a good choice or you can use human B-Complex. For a 5mo old I would give 1/4 tablet daily.

You mention that her toes are a little crooked - have they always been crooked? Do you notice if there's any swelling of joints, if she stands knocked kneed or possibly 1 leg turns out?

Another possibility with her age could be Marek's disease. There is no cure. Here's some reading for you.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

Thank you so much!! These were the two main things I had come to as well but hoping for the b vitamins to be the case and not Marek’s. The farm we got them from said they’d never had a case and that there hasn’t been any incident of it in Georgia for years... (not sure how true that is though and I’m waiting on a response to that question from our local Extension office).

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you so much!! These were the two main things I had come to as well but hoping for the b vitamins to be the case and not Marek’s. The farm we got them from said they’d never had a case and that there hasn’t been any incident of it in Georgia for years... (not sure how true that is though and I’m waiting on a response to that question from our local Extension office).

I hope she improves.
Since she's only 5 months, I think I would either keep her on chick starter, an all flock/flock raiser feed too. If she's already on layer feed, I would give her a little extra protein.

Hope you get more info from the Ag Ext. if you do happen to lose her, then getting a necropsy/testing through your state lab will usually give you the best information.

 

[Eggcessive]

Unfortunately, I also think that Mareks could be a possibility, but I hope it turns out not to be the problem. Watch to see that she is not getting injured by another bird, especially a juvenile cockerel who may be rough. There is a Mareks test that tests blood or feathers in your state for Mareks, but the testing done after death is probably more accurate overall. Here is a link for the blood and feather testing in post #1:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/mareks-testing-in-living-birds.1206105/

Here is a list of state vets including GA:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm