Chickens fall on their feet: cause and treatment, best practices and prevention at home

Many farmers and poultry farmers who are engaged in breeding households have repeatedly encountered diseases in chickens and chickens. Violations of the musculoskeletal system are fraught not only with reduced productivity and high costs for treatment, but also with a high probability of bird death. That is why it is so important to know the causes and treatment if chickens fall on their feet.

Possible causes of hens and chicks falling on their feet

Chickens and chicks fall to their feet for a variety of reasons: vitamin deficiencies, uncomfortable living quarters, illnesses and disorders, or if they don't get the food they need.In order to prevent the development of the disease and the subsequent death of the animal, you should be aware of the accompanying signs of a particular violation.

Marek's disease

If hens or chicks sit on their feet, the cause may be Marek's disease. The causative agent of the disease is the herpes virus. Clinical manifestations are as follows: unnatural gait, twisting of the neck, drooping of the tail and wings. The bird begins to limp and as a result falls to its feet. You should pay attention to the iris of the eyes - the color may change. Over time, the bird loses weight, becomes lethargic and dies.

Curvature and curly fingers

When the fingers are bent, the chicken starts to move on the side of the foot. Curly in a bird is manifested by curved fingers that point down. Such a violation is provoked by injuries and hypothermia, but also curliness is often transmitted genetically or occurs during the incubation period.There is no cure for this.

Knemidocoptosis

If the chicken fell and does not get up - perhaps this is a late stage of knemidokoptosis. With this disorder, scaly growths form on the paws, which are accompanied by dermatitis and scabies. The provocateur of the disease is a subcutaneous tick. Infected birds must be isolated.

Chicken lameness

Lameness in chickens is associated with mechanical damage to the paws, which was obtained as a result of injury, dislocation or sprain. If the bird does not walk well, it most likely has joint swelling or an open wound. When a limb is damaged, chickens lie motionless or limp.

Incorrect Containment Procedures

One of the main mistakes in keeping birds is the overcrowding and high population density of the chicken coop.But also quite often the chicken coop does not meet sanitary and hygienic standards. In the absence of ventilation, infections can spread easily and high perches can cause injury.

Low temperatures lead to hypothermia, resulting in limb failure in pets.

Irrational nutrition

If the diet of a bird is not enriched with minerals, useful substances and vitamins, it becomes weak and ill. The diet should contain greens, as well as sources of calcium: bone meal, chalk, shell rock. Often a fall on the paws is associated with beriberi. What to do in this case? Enrich your diet with vegetables: cabbage, beets, carrots.

Frostbite

Frostbite on chicken paws can be easily identified by the following signs: the skin has a bluish-black tint, and the limb itself is swollen. This phenomenon occurred after walking in the cold season.The pallor of the comb and earrings is also manifested, the bird has a cramp, it breathes heavily and staggers. If the legs fail, necrosis may develop.

Perosis

In the case of this disease in birds, weakening of the ligaments and displacement of the tendons in the limbs is noted. As a rule, the violation occurs in broilers that grow quickly. But the disease also develops due to insufficient content of B vitamins, manganese, valuable acids, choline and biotin. A characteristic symptom is unnaturally twisted paws. A sick bird hardly eats, moves little or does not get up at all.

Gout

If the bird sits on its paws and does not move, most likely, an excess amount of s alts and uric acid has accumulated in its joints. Obvious signs of such a disorder are enlarged, hardened joints with bumps. The reason lies in long-term feeding with compound feed, including fish or meat and bone meal.

Rickets

Due to vitamin D deficiency and lack of sunlight, it can be observed that the chicken has fallen on its paws and does not move. This disorder is called rickets. Violation of metabolic processes occurs due to vitamin deficiency and, as a rule, affects young animals. The bird has chronic weakness and impaired bone formation.

Reovirus infection of chickens

This disease includes several disorders that are provoked by the reovirus. Clinically, they do not have pronounced symptoms, however, pathology can be determined if the chicken is lame, breathing heavily and eating little. Late stages of the disease are accompanied by ruptures of the tendons of the limb and cartilage.

Tendovaginitis, arthritis

Both diseases are characterized by inflammatory processes. With tendovaginitis, the localization area is the articular sheaths and tendons, and with arthritis, the joints.Often the cause is an infectious lesion, trauma. Arthritis develops as a result of an unbalanced diet, injury, or a virus entering the body of a chicken. Sick birds limp and move little.

Injuries

When broken, cut, dislocated, torn and sprained, a chicken can sit on its paws. If the chicks are injured, it is extremely important to treat the wound, otherwise the condition may worsen over time. Without proper care, affected chickens die.

Treatment of diseases

As soon as the first signs were noticed, you need to immediately begin to treat the bird:

• for disorders in the joints, the diet is replenished with tricalcium phosphate;
• for inflammatory processes in the tendons, the food is enriched with vitamin B and manganese;
• for arthritis and tendovaginitis, birds are fed multivitamin supplements, antiviral and antibacterial drugs are used for a week, and paws are also lubricated with syntamycin ointment or fish oil;
• knemidokoptosis is treated with acaricidal agents: the solution is heated, poured into a basin and the paws of a sick chicken are immersed;
• with perosis, adult chickens are given vitamins B4, B12 and B7;
• in case of injuries and lameness, the bird is removed, the wound is treated.

It is recommended to immediately remove a weak and sick chicken from relatives, as stronger ones can peck it.

Disease prevention

Preventive measures are to create comfortable conditions for keeping birds, rational nutrition and timely vaccination. In the poultry house, it is necessary to maintain the cleanliness of the bedding, as well as the feeders and drinkers.

One of the main conditions for comfortable keeping of chickens is normal temperature and ventilation - chickens do not tolerate cold and drafts. It is also important to follow a balanced diet - food should be enriched with vitamins and minerals.

It will not be superfluous to add calcium-containing mixtures to the diet.

As for nests and perches, their height should not exceed 0.5 meters. Another essential preventive measure is regular walking, during which chickens receive vitamins from pasture.

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