hen limping, standing on one foot -no bumblefoot signs

evekelly

In the Brooder
Feb 6, 2015
42
6
42
I noticed my 10 month old GLW limping and standing on one foot today. I took her in and soaked her feet in Epsom salt to check for bumblefoot and see no signs of it. She was fine yesterday.
Their bedding is pine shavings and it is cold and has had snow for the last few weeks, which is melting now, but not alot of ice really. The ground has been wet alot because of the melting snow and they prefer to be in the grass even though there may be snow in it rather than staying in the run.
Their roost is about 4 feet high and I think they don't have alot of space to navigate the flight down, although my husband thinks otherwise. She is a little heavier than my two Easter eggers but about the same as my australorp.
The only thing I notice that seems peculiar is that her leg has a few little dark spots at the top of her leg, almost like small bruises, but it is on both legs not only on the hurt one. And I don't know if this is normal because my other hens have dark legs.
I feed them layer feed but I do give them some oats and sunflower seeds during the day as treats (less than a cup) and sometimes a half of a small cabbage to peck at when there is lots of snow. Sometimes I will throw out a small pear that is really ripe or a boiled egg and occasionally a little bit of yogurt without any sugar or anything.
Could I be giving them too many treats? Could she be calcium deficient? I tried to give them oyster shells but they are large and they don't eat them. Any input would be appreciated.
 
I have had chickens injure their legs by jumping from too high but just as likely she could have pulled something slipping on the snow or bruised her foot on sharp ice. If there are no obvious cuts or swelling then I would just keep her comfortable and prevent her from jumping or flying a lot. After a few days she should get better. My rooster, who was a heavy breed, sometimes injures himself jumping from their perch which is around 10 ft up. I lock him in a crate at night and this prevents him using his leg too much until it can heal).
Offering vitamins may help her heal faster as well.

I hope she gets better soon!
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I kept my hens (I have 4 in all) in the run today so Winona wouldn't be running all over the yard and might rest her foot some, besides we had a large hawk come by yesterday afternoon. I let them out for about an hour today and she seemed a bit better. The pictures below are of her bad leg. She's been scratching in the mud a lot so her feet are dirty, but there are a few small gray/dark spots at the top of her leg (which aren't dirt). Don't know if that is just part of her coloring or maybe nothing to worry about.

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I kept my hens (I have 4 in all) in the run today so Winona wouldn't be running all over the yard and might rest her foot some, besides we had a large hawk come by yesterday afternoon. I let them out for about an hour today and she seemed a bit better. The pictures below are of her bad leg. She's been scratching in the mud a lot so her feet are dirty, but there are a few small gray/dark spots at the top of her leg (which aren't dirt). Don't know if that is just part of her coloring or maybe nothing to worry about.

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The spotting on the legs is normal in most cases, so I wouldn't worry about it. The middle toe does look a little swollen and red but if she has been scratching around in the mud it likely isn't bothering her too much. She should get better soon.
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Thank you, Gitabooks.
You were right on. Today, you can see her middle toe is black and blue right where the toe joins the rest of the foot. I don't know if it can be broken or if it is broken, but it sure does look painful. I am assuming it is some sort of injury rather than an abcess or something because there is no spot or anything on the bottom of the foot.
Should I wrap it with gauze or some sort of wrap to keep it stable?

Thanks,
Yvette
 
I'm not a chicken health expert, but wrapping it sounds like a good idea. There is lots of good information out there on how to wrap a chickens foot, leg, wing, ect that could certainly help. Make sure the foot is clean, the bandage is not so tight it cuts off blood (chickens can loose their toes or even feet this way) and that your hen doesn't use her foot for things like grabbing onto perches, scratching, running, or landing for a little while. You could try putting her in a hospital pen if the perches are high elsewhere. We have a couple chicken tractors inside of our barn that we use as hospital crates, as they are large enough to allow movement but prevent further injury.

I hope this helps.
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Thank you, That is very helpful. She is perching and scratching still so I guess I could pin her up for a while. She would probably not like it, but I think she needs to stay off of it for a while.
Thanks again!
Yvette
 

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