6 month old BR with bump on leg

[erinszoo]

Well, our BR girl last week had a leg that had swelled up and she wasn't using it to walk at all. She didn't seem sick or anything otherwise and continued to eat and drink and lay eggs for us but we isolated her and put her in a cage where she could rest the leg, thinking that it was a sprain. Sure enough the swelling went away in about 24 hours and she is now at least limping on the leg and standing with it on the ground. Her foot no longer looks swollen at all but there is a large bump about halfway between the foot and the elbow. It doesn't seem to be painful to her at all when we touch it and there is no other swelling. She continues to eat and drink and lay eggs just fine. We ruled out bumblefoot earlier because she didn't have any scabs or lesions anywhere and her legs are still straight so no obvious broken bones. Could she have cracked her leg somehow or is there other reasons that could cause the bump? We aren't sure what to do for her now. We're still separating her at night in the heated greenhouse but letting her in the yard with the others during the day. Any help?

 

[CMV]

Are you sure she doesn't have a fracture? Chickens are so tough that she may not react to the pain upon palpation, but a large lump may be indicative of a healing hairline fracture. Any bruising? I would check her for bruising especially on the bottom of her foot (bruises tend to settle to the lowest point). If you find evidence of bruising then I think you should consider the possibility. If no bruising is present then I guess she has something else going on.

 

[erinszoo]

I'm not sure she doesn't have a hairline fracture at all. She's the bottom of the pecking order and the other birds tend to run over her, literally and knock her off of the roost and things. Her legs already have blackish spatters on them anyway so it's hard to tell if there's any bruising. The bottom of her foot looks darker than the other one. What would I do for a hairline fracture besides isolating her?

 

[CMV]

Nothing. It will heal on its own but she should have her mobility limited somewhat to allow for complete healing. A hairline fracture in a bird is at risk for splintering into a more complicated fracture. Can you keep her in the coop in a smaller space? I hate isolating birds (especially those lower on the pecking order) because of the difficulties with re-integration. I have a smaller cage I can use inside the coop for birds with minor issues. That way the bird is still present and part of the flock, but has essentially been cut off from physical contact/assault by the others. It makes for a much easier integration once the problem is resolved. Your girl shouldn't be at risk for infection, just re-injury, so I would be hesitant to isolate her.