wobbly hen with watery poop - help?

Hi all,
I've been lurking around the forums looking for a solution for my hen and haven't found one so thought I'd ask for help.
Her stats:
She'll be 2 years old in December. Lives with 8 other hens in a coop (pine shaving floor) with enclosed run. They free-range in the yard about 3-4 times a week when I'm home. They've never been wormed. They don't have lice/mites.

Initial symptoms: About 3 weeks ago when I was locking up the hens I noticed she was sitting low near the food, not dancing around for treats like all the others. I immediately brought her into the garage and put her in a wire cage with pine shavings. Once inside, I could see she was molting (especially under wings) and had very watery poop. After reading the forums, I treated her with antibiotics for C. perfringens for about 10 days. Also checked to see if egg-bound, and checked for the spongey abdomen of egg yolk peritonitis but felt normal to me. Her feathers have filled back in.

Currently: Her poop is now less watery, but still not normal, and the little solid there is is barely digested. She hasn't laid an egg since I first noticed the problem. She has been eating some layer feed, drinking her water, and is especially excited about the treats and mealworms I give her and eats all of those. She has been roosting fine and seems perky/alert, scratching in the dirt outside (still separate from the other hens), and taking dirt baths. HOWEVER, the last week or so she has been stumbling as if drunk a lot, and sometimes tipping forward. It seems worse in the morning but still very noticeable. Her crop this morning (as of 10:30) felt very full, but maybe because she's already been eating? Last time I checked in the early morning around 8am a couple of weeks ago it was normal. I am beginning to wonder if she has bumblefoot? A couple of months ago I noticed a toe at a strange angle but thought it was just broken but maybe it was bent because of an abcess?

Any ideas on what I should do to help her?

This is the bent toe right foot, topside and underneath.



This is the underside of the left foot. See the dark kernel between the toes at the top of the frame? I thought it was mud but it wasn't really coming out the way dirt/mud should scrape out - is this an abscess scab?


And then 3 poops from this morning:







Thanks a lot everyone for your help! This is my first flock and my first illness and I'm at a loss!
(In Los Angeles, it's been in the 80s lately just fyi)

Howdy farmnicky and Welcome to BYC, sadly the circumstances in which you join us are not the best.

I am definitely not an expert on what ails chickens but hopefully my inexperienced response will assist in that it bumps your question and catches the attention of those more experienced.

I have found this poop chart to be helpful in the past: http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0

Looking at that chart, my untrained eye is leaning towards C. Perfringens [which I note you mentioned you have been treating her for] or Worms.

Is there a reason you have not wormed them?

Sorry, I am not able to be more helpful and have no idea what is going on with her toe.

I hope you are able to find out what ails her and have her back to normal soon.

Hey thanks for the reply. Checking the poop chart is what led me to treat with antibiotics but doesn't seem to have helped... Plus her crop was very full at 8am today and didn't look like she'd touched her food..,

And I haven't wormed them just because I didn't realize I had to! But I don't think it's good to do now in her condition.,,

Hey farmnicky I am pleased to hear that she is hanging in there.

I do worm my gals on a regular basis [6 monthly] but it is definitely a personal preference and I have read that some do and some don’t. I am not sure about worming them when they are unwell but agree that it may not be a good idea in that it could weaken her more. I wish I was more experienced with these issues and able to provide sound advice.

Anyways, the full crop at 8am when she looks not to have eaten much could be an indication of impacted crop which I have had some experience with.

Here is a link to a good article on prevention and treatment:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

I have had a couple of gals develop impacted crop and found that sardines in oil were very effective.

If you think she could have impacted crop and if she will eat them, another thing to try could be feeding her some sardines in oil and very gently massage the crop afterwards. The sardines to not do much except make it appetising for her and give her some nutrition but the oil may help to shift/break up any blockage.