Hi, I'm a longtime lurker here, and decided to post when i couldn't figure out a chicken's problem. We have around 30 hens, and one of our polish started acting up last night. She's around 2 years old, she's on the lighter side.
The problem seems to be her walking. She walks at a slight crouch, and steps very gingerly on her feet. Her step length is very short, so when she walks, it only looks like some sort of shuffle. I checked her over, her legs seem to move fine, and it looks like she doesn't like me to stretch them. No scaly leg mites or bumblefoot. I thought maybe she was egg bound, but her legs seem to be tucked underneath her instead of splayed, though i will check to be sure. As far as I know, this only cropped up last night or yesterday at some point.
I worry that she hasn't been eating, though when I threw out some scratch, she did come over to eat. Her balance only seemed off slightly. Like when I was checking her over and put her down, she didn't have her balance right until after a few steps. Her toes bend, and there doesn't seem to be any broken bones or swelling along her legs.
Our chickens did have a mite and lice problem, but following some of the posts on here, we used permethrin 10% on them. I havent seen her stool yet, but we havent segregated her as the other chickens leave her alone.
Any ideas on what this might be would be helpful. I'm hoping its some sore or sprained muscles.
The problem seems to be her walking. She walks at a slight crouch, and steps very gingerly on her feet. Her step length is very short, so when she walks, it only looks like some sort of shuffle. I checked her over, her legs seem to move fine, and it looks like she doesn't like me to stretch them. No scaly leg mites or bumblefoot. I thought maybe she was egg bound, but her legs seem to be tucked underneath her instead of splayed, though i will check to be sure. As far as I know, this only cropped up last night or yesterday at some point.
I worry that she hasn't been eating, though when I threw out some scratch, she did come over to eat. Her balance only seemed off slightly. Like when I was checking her over and put her down, she didn't have her balance right until after a few steps. Her toes bend, and there doesn't seem to be any broken bones or swelling along her legs.
Our chickens did have a mite and lice problem, but following some of the posts on here, we used permethrin 10% on them. I havent seen her stool yet, but we havent segregated her as the other chickens leave her alone.
Any ideas on what this might be would be helpful. I'm hoping its some sore or sprained muscles.
