5 year old hen limping no obvious break

[ChickenMaman]

Hi there. I’ve got a five-year-old hen named sugar who is limping pretty badly. I noticed she was laying in the grass with one of her wings spread out and at first I thought she was sunbathing. Then I realized that she couldn’t get up. She’s got a lot of lost feathers around her belly and she’s definitely unable to use one of her legs. I live in Vermont and it’s still pretty cold here. The nights are getting down to the 30s. My coops not big enough to have her crated up inside the coop. I could crate her in the run but I’m not sure if that will help her leg. I’m also not sure what’s causing her limping because she doesn’t seem to have any obvious pain or discomfort when I touch up and down the leg. There’s no denying that with an injured leg, she’s having trouble reaching the feeder and I’m gonna have to figure out another solution for her to eat. Do I keep her in the crate with separate food and water? If so, how long?

 

[Lillith37]

You need to check her, the rest of your flock and your coop for lice and mites.

What do you feed them? Could she be getting bullied away from food?

If it were me I would crate her inside, even in a garage or laundry, and prop her up on some towels so she can reach for food and water. I’d give scrambled eggs and half a human b complex tablet daily.

Check the bottom of her feet for wounds. Palpate her ankles, hocks and up into her leg muscles for any tenderness, swelling or warmth. Look very carefully through the feathers to see if there is a wound. Could she have been attacked by a predator?

Is she pooping? Laying eggs?

 

[ChickenMaman]

I have checked them and they do not have lice. I also dusted them with diatomaceous earth regularly.

I never noticed any issue with her eating. In fact, she’s been jumping at the feeder and the other chickens haven’t been bullying her at all. I have not noticed any swelling in her leg just her own immobilization of it

 

[ChickenMaman]

As far as I know, she is pooping, but she hasn’t laid eggs for two days

 

[Lillith37]

Those broken feathers on her belly would have me very concerned for ectoparasites. She may also be stress plucking.

She could be egg bound? Sometimes a stuck egg puts pressure on the nerves and affects their mobility. Try a warm epsom salt bath and calcium citrate supplement.

 

[ChickenMaman]

I feel it now. She has a swollen joint where her feathers start above her foot.

 

[Lillith37]

I feel it now. She has a swollen joint where her feathers start above her foot.

Definitely isolate her and help her sit up on the towels to limit her mobility while she heals. Hopefully nothing is broken.

 

[ChickenMaman]

Ok guys. Let me break down what I’ve done.

I checked sugar for mites and while I saw some poop stuck to her feathers I did not see any brown or tan mites or lice, nor any clusters of nits at the base of her feather shafts.

Since it has been two days since she laid an egg gave her a warm Epsom salt bath and thoroughly dried her, then fully dusted her with DE (not her head, no free floating dust in the room. Airways clear).

Then I made space in the cop by removing the bottom perch and set up a very large kennel, which I filled with 4-5” fresh pine shavings. I gave her crumble at floor level, as well as a nipple waterer of nutridrentch solution (which has calcium in it). I will be keeping her in there until she lays an egg and stops limping, hopefully. Any other thoughts?

 

[Lillith37]

Ok guys. Let me break down what I’ve done.

I checked sugar for mites and while I saw some poop stuck to her feathers I did not see any brown or tan mites or lice, nor any clusters of nits at the base of her feather shafts.

Since it has been two days since she laid an egg gave her a warm Epsom salt bath and thoroughly dried her, then fully dusted her with DE (not her head, no free floating dust in the room. Airways clear).

Then I made space in the cop by removing the bottom perch and set up a very large kennel, which I filled with 4-5” fresh pine shavings. I gave her crumble at floor level, as well as a nipple waterer of nutridrentch solution (which has calcium in it). I will be keeping her in there until she lays an egg and stops limping, hopefully. Any other thoughts?

Sounds good to me. You could still try a calcium citrate supplement to help with egg laying but you can also see how she goes with the drench. Sometimes the calcium citrate can help in a pinch because it is the most readily available form of calcium and is absorbed quickly.

I guess if you had any anti-inflammatories like meloxicam/metacam you could give them to her.

Still also check your other birds for mites and check the coop as well. Do it at night because some mites are nocturnal and live in the environment and only go on the bird for a couple of hours to feed. Do it as late as you possibly can or very very early in the morning pre-dawn.

Fingers crossed she feels better soon.

 

[ChickenMaman]

For the calcium citrate….could I use citric acid in water? I don’t have any calcium citrate supplements.