Bilateral leg swelling in 4 year old hen without lameness

[jmmaye]

Welcome To BYC

Your guesses are probably as good as ours. Gout, Arthritis or Mycoplasma. There's 2 "types" of Mycoplasma. Mycoplasma Synovaie is what causes swelling of the feet. Mycoplasma Gallisepticum is respiratory. So I wouldn't necessarily rule out MS.

Turning greenish is interesting, green in chickens is often bruising, but I honestly don't think that's the reason for color change. Possibly the beginning of infection.

I'll tag in @Eggcessive and @coach723 to see if they have better ideas.

Thank you for your warm welcome and reply! This is a great community, wish I had joined when I first got my girls 4 years ago!

 

[jmmaye]

I can't say for sure what all of the possible causes of this are, but I have read up on gout before and this looks like gout.

Here's some info here if you want to read about it: https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/gout-management-in-poultry

Thank you for this excellent article.

 

[jmmaye]

That is what i wondered. I'm no expert, but here are some ideas...If she rarely lays, or has stopped, maybe switch her to a flock raiser, or feed for older hens now, instead of layer feed...and limit treats to see if she improves.

Has she been able to dust bathe the past few weeks? Maybe check her vent, and do an overall look for parasites, to look for sources of inflammation/irritation. Can't tell for sure but skin looks pink where feathers cover the legs. Maybe dust feathers, roosts, and spray her legs daily with olive oil...as there may be an irritant you can't see. Small chance - but was there a change in bedding to which she may have a skin allergy / or plant sap exposure?

Plenty of fresh water, helps flush swelling, Parsley and certain other greens like dandelon - are used in humans as seasonal kidney tonics. Can't hurt to try some, as they are loaded with Vitamins.
Maybe even a warm epsom salts soak, if there's a chance of a stuck egg restricting her movement and circulation?

Since both legs are affected it may be a sign of organ trouble. I don't know if using a wormer might be a cure...but do check feces for any sign when any are ill. Poo photos may help with a diagnosis.

In humans, sometimes leg swelling is a symptom of a weak heart...and more common with age and cardio disease. On a farm they'd probably do a swift cull rather than watch her quality of life deteriorate. Still, taking a close look to inspect for a cause is a good idea...as sometimes a small change can prevent it in other birds.

I feel for you, and your pretty girl.. Good Luck.

Thank you so very much for the advise and expertise. I of course don't want to delay a humane cull but wanted to check to see if there was something I was missing that I could do. I am certainly no expert on chicken anatomy or health, but I am a human medical doctor so I was thinking about cardiovascular disease as a cause, but seems to be not super common! Plus, she does not really show any other signs of systemic distress (trouble breathing, fatigue, etc). Again thank you for your answer and your concern.

 

[jmmaye]

I'm sorry that you're going through this.
I've never seen that, how far does it extend up the legs?
That's a lovey speckled sussex!.

It extends up past the heel, pretty extensive. Seems to have slowly gotten a bit worse over the past weeks, to the point of some noticeable mobility problems.
Thank you for the breed correction, I actually was super unsure of that when I purchased her as a week old chick and now I know ;-)

 

[jmmaye]

I agree with the options @Wyorp Rock listed, likely MS or gout. I found this older thread with pictures that are very similar. Initially opinions where that it was likely gout, it's been recently updated to say more likely MS.
Picture in post #3:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/gout-in-chickens.915762/
And yes, she's a speckled sussex rather than a copper marans.

Thank you, this has been incredibly helpful, and I have honestly been asking so many friends with hens for help for weeks now!
I think I will try a dose of of Tylan. I don't want to wait to long to give her a humane end but feel like I want to try to give her the best shot.
Thank you again for the breed correction. I have a lot to learn and I appreciate the help

 

[humblehillsfarm]

It extends up past the heel, pretty extensive. Seems to have slowly gotten a bit worse over the past weeks, to the point of some noticeable mobility problems.
Thank you for the breed correction, I actually was super unsure of that when I purchased her as a week old chick and now I know ;-)

I was seriously impressed at your use of “bilateral”. Human doctor makes sense! I’ve not been able to locate significant research on the effects of too much calcium in a diet except that I know there ARE effects. I have to wonder about the chances of side effects for a laying hen on layer feed her whole life when they often go 3-4 months without laying in the winter months? I generally switch to grower feed when they aren’t laying, but I’m not perfect. Just this month a neighbor dropped off a bag of layer feed as a gesture of kindness, so of course I use it even though only 3/17 are currently laying.

As for cardio, most of the time the bird drops dead without much warning or they may have a blue or purple tinge to their comb/waddles due to low O2. I agree it’s probably not likely.

My methodology is to treat for suspected disorders if a treatment is available that doesn’t have significant side effects. At least it’s could help you potentially rule out problems.

Most of us on BYC support a humane cull if you think it’s too that point that she’s suffering too much.

Keep us up to date with your girl! This is the first post I’ve seen with leg swelling.