chicken question

JIL · #1 12/20/10, 05:26 PM

what makes a chicken walk like it is marching in one of those foreign armies? seriously I have one that is walking like it is marching lifting it's whole legs forward to walk and the legs is kinda pale gray. thanks

chickenista · #2 12/20/10, 05:32 PM

I have a roo that has one leg like that. He has walked that since he was a wee thing. We do not use him for breeding. Oooh. I think he is in the freezer actually.
But before that he was perfectly fine to do everything but walk normal. We called him Adolf. (behind his back)

JIL · #3 12/20/10, 05:36 PM

LOL he has started doing it since he lost some tail feathers from too many roos in the courtyard. we have eliminated many of the roos. He is walking like that with both legs can I use your name adolf maybe the II LOL so nothing to worry about? Thanks JIL

Cyngbaeld · #4 12/20/10, 06:11 PM

Very likely Marek's disease. I'd go ahead and cull him for dinner. Better safe than sorry.

JIL · #5 12/20/10, 06:28 PM

are you serious? what is it? I have over a 100+ hens in 2 coops that free range together!!

Cyngbaeld · #6 12/20/10, 06:59 PM

It is a viral infection. It is spread thru feather dander. If you will cull any birds with symptoms and keep only those that are resistant, you may not have too much trouble with it. I see a few every yr and just cull those. It may help to keep exposure to a minimum while they build resistance so don't keep sick ones around.

JIL · #7 12/20/10, 07:43 PM

how does it work when it's time to hatch new ones, I usually sell chicks in the spring and summer
also I still don't have eggs since they molted in Nov. oh my, I usually sell eggs is there any human consuption probs? thanks so much JIL

JIL · #8 12/21/10, 09:32 AM

bump!!!

JIL · #9 12/24/10, 12:12 PM

today I lost the funny walking chicken we buthered him to look at his innards, the heart liverr and gizzard looked normal he was thin hardly any meat and a white powdery stuff at the base of his feathers near the vent. so we are thinking mites I've lost about 10 or more birds since the begining of fall. also he was vac for marek's all of my birds were that we got form the hatchery went and looked at reciept. I do have some that I hatched that were not vac and I had got 10 from an auction that I have no idea if they were vac or not they all died within a week of having them that was in Aug. do you think this is why I have NO eggs and do you think it is mites or is there something else that could be causeing this Thanks JIL