Hen Limping Badly - Not Bumblefoot. Help? She's in the bathtub...

KerryP · Feb 12, 2017

I have a hen that is limping pretty badly. I brought her inside, washed her feet thoroughly, and below are photos. I'm pretty darn sure it's not bumblefoot. I hand fed her this morning and she ate a ton... which explains why she's gotten skinnier over the last few weeks - I think the other hens are not letting her get to the food and water. She drank a ton, too. She seems fine otherwise... no impacted crop, vent is great (not laying though), and legs don't feel broken or mis-shapen - I felt them all the way up to her belly. She's wanting to socialize but just can't keep up. It hurts her to roost - she's been sleeping on the floor of the henhouse. I've had her in the bathtub all morning and she seems relaxed and almost relieved.

So I thought I'd make her a pen in the back yard with her own food and water, and then put her in the henhouse at the end of the day manually. does anyone see anything in the photos below about her feet? I can't tell if those brown spots at the top of her middle toe are bruises or not. ANY ADVICE / THOUGHTS IS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!!! It's the right foot that she doesn't want to put weight on.

Eggcessive · Feb 12, 2017

Does she have swelling in her ankles or in her hocks or elbows? Are there a few bumps on the front of her feet? Do you think that she might have injured her joints jumping? She may have some type of arthritis, either bacterial, such as mycoplasma (MS) or viral arthritis. I would place her in a crate with food and water for rest, but she needs to remain in the coop to be part of the flock if possible. I also would add poultry vitamins to her water, and offer a small amount of chopped egg, canned tuna in water, and a tsp of plain yogurt to get some weight on her. Let us know how she is doing in a day or two.

KerryP · Feb 12, 2017

I gave her a little scrambled egg and she liked that, then moved her outside into a large pen in the yard. My hens free-range all day so she can kind of be with them that way. I'll check for swelling in the joints when I get back home, but I don't recall feeling any when I checked this morning. She can just lay down and rest in the pen with no one picking on her. She has her own food & water... and I'll add the vitamins when I get home. I don't really see any abnormal bumps on the top of the foot. I'm really worried about her. It's frustrating because there's no clear and obvious cause.