Howdy y'all, I could use some advice. About ten days ago I found one of my Buff O's sitting against the sidewall fence and not moving. When I went to get her she did not run away and I knew there was a problem. Turns out something is up with her right leg. Here's what I see after putting her in quarantine: 1) The underside of her leg where it attaches to her body and then a spot on her rump had a very nasty looking set of large deep purple/black bruises. They are now completely gone. 2) She was compensating with her wing, but that has stopped also. She's standing on her left foot. 3) She keeps trying to push her right foot down like a horse stomping a foot, but there is nothing in place [or healed] to support her efforts. 4) Her foot was never swollen, nor her leg. 5) I can take her foot and turn it outward [like it is going away from her] a full 90 degrees and she does not flinch. 6) I don't feel a break, the leg has never felt hot, nor cold, and has the same color and consistency as her healthy foot. Could she have snapped a tendon? Her upper leg and hip seem absolutely fine. To me this is more than a sprain and I am afraid I am going to have to cull the girl before long. I don't see it getting better. Thoughts?
Nerve damage? Any idea what caused the original bruises? Teeth? They can often cause nerve damage if they hit the wrong spot.
Thanks y'all for the responses. I checked on my girl again today. Here's what I discovered. At the joint where the femur and fibula connect my girl is pretty swollen, like a swollen knee to you and me. The femur feels fine [no breaks] and the fibula on the way down to the tibia feels fine [no breaks]. I am pretty sure something in this joint is awry. When I push on the bottom of her foot there is no closing of the foot or reaction. We have 19 hens and two roosters and I think my guys are getting to my girls too much.
