Chicken with walking issues

[Kathy Nash]

My sex-link red hen, Fancy, eats while laying down with tail higher than normal. She has staggered sometimes, is clumsy and falls sometimes when getting down from 3’ high roost.
I have felt crop and vent area and they are not enlarged and don’t feel abnormal. Her feet are slightly whiter than the yellow legs of the other hens her age and breed. I thought she might be in pain. I gave her 1/4 of a baby aspirin inside a raisin for about 6 days.(Then I read that was too long). She willingly takes her raisin so I give a plain raisin in case I need to give her something later. The other hens do not treat her differently unless she falls over, the. They act like they want to attack her. However, I don’t notice any sores or bruises on her. Her poop varies from day to day. She seems to loose her balance when she poops. I have suspected a broken tail or other lower back injury. She is just as hungry as the other chickens and comes over or gets up when I bring chick weed or short grass clumps on for something to entertain/eat.She has stopped roosting and sits on a towel covering the top of a cage mesh. I think she may be slowly recovering but now the weather has turned very cold. Does this sound familiar to any backyard chicken keepers?

 

[Laura_BelgianBantams_63]

@LaFleche

 

[LaFleche]

Hello @Kathy Nash and welcome to BYC!

Sorry your hen is not feeling well, we will all try our best to help you nurse her back to health, if possible.

• How old is your hen?
• Do you have a rooster?
• When did you last deworm your flock?
• How does her crop look and feel? Is it huge, hard or rather squishy, like a water filled balloon?
• How does her poop look?
• When did she last lay an egg?
• Do you add vitamin supplements to their drinking water?
• What exactly do you feed them including treats?
• Do they have grit and oyster shell available at any time?
• Did you already check her carefully for lice or mites?
• Did you check the coop for red poultry mites? Best done at night with a flash light as mites will hide in the crevices during the day and only come out at night to feast on the roosting birds.

 

[LaFleche]

Please upload some pictures of your hen, her poop and her legs and feet including the soles.