5 month pullet limping and I cannot get appointment with vet

[Merci BeauCoop]

We have a 5 month Orpington pullet that started limping about 4 days ago. I am new to raising chickens, these are our first and we hatched them from eggs. A very "chicken-experienced" friend of mine (she is a breeder with 400+ chickens) looked at her foot 2 days ago and did not see anything wrong with it. (no Bumblefoot, she grasped my friend's finger when it was put into her claw, nothing seems to be in the foot, and no apparent physical marks. The 11 chickens have a large (8'x8'), clean and dry coop with a 10'x12' covered run and an outdoor free range area that is 45'x90' that has 6' chicken wire surrounding it and bird netting overhead. They are only in the free range during the day.

Yesterday, the pullet did not go outside at all, even for food and water. She stayed on the floor the entire day and even slept there last night. I brought food and water to her and today, she seems to be eating and drinking. There is an extreme shortage of avian vets in my area and I have called every option. The only appointment I could get was for 2 days from now, which I took. Does anyone have any ideas of how to help her? I should also mention that she has not started layin?g eggs yet but I think she is very close to laying her first egg. It doesn't seem likely that it has anything to do with her limp but, again, this is my first time and I was thinking that if she was eggbound or something, she might have strange symptoms. Just trying to get all the facts laid out. Help?

 

[Brahmachicken240]

No scab on her foot pad ?
Do her joints feel hot ?

 

[RhodeIslandRed5]

Aww, poor girl. I have a RIR that has a bad limp. Vet told me it was a bad sprain. She's been limping for about three weeks now. Perhaps yours sprained her leg when jumping off a perch. I suspect mine got her leg hung somehow. Hope yours feels better soon!

 

[Merci BeauCoop]

Her legs are both warm but I don’t think unusually hot. There does seem to be a possible scab on her foot that I didn’t see before. There is a little debris stuck to it.

 

[Merci BeauCoop]

Aww, poor girl. I have a RIR that has a bad limp. Vet told me it was a bad sprain. She's been limping for about three weeks now. Perhaps yours sprained her leg when jumping off a perch. I suspect mine got her leg hung somehow. Hope yours feels better soon!

Thank you. She is a pretty heavy bird and the bottom roost is about 2 1/2 feet high.

 

[Merci BeauCoop]

When I put her back down after examining her foot, she started cackling quite a bit.

 

[RhodeIslandRed5]

Is there a chance she stepped on something sharp, such as a wire, piece of sharp plastic or a nail or a screw? Perhaps it's a splinter.

 

[Merci BeauCoop]

No scab on her foot pad ?
Do her joints feel hot ?

Should I soak her foot in warm epsom salt?

 

[Merci BeauCoop]

Is there a chance she stepped on something sharp, such as a wire, piece of sharp plastic or a nail or a screw? Perhaps it's a splinter.

We kind of “baby proofed” their run before we opened it up to them but I guess it is possible. We do have for trees in their run so maybe a fir needle?

 

[Brahmachicken240]

Should I soak her foot in warm epsom salt?

That would be a good start!
Could you post a photo of the scab on her foot pad ?