Chicken won’t walk after laying her first egg

[Mary SL]

My sapphire gem just laid her first egg today. I noticed when I went into the coop she was panting and laying down. When I came near, she stood up, albeit wobbly, and was hopping on one foot; she won’t put weight on the other leg. I felt for injury, but nothing seemed amiss.

She is eating well and still chatty but I don’t know if she could have injured herself laying her egg.

Any ideas if these are related?

 

[TwoCrows]

How is she doing now? If she is still favoring one leg you might do a check of her foot pad making sure there are no injuries to the pad. Make sure nothing is poking the webbing on the underside. Feel for heat in the foot and up near the hock, compare to the other leg for temp.

I have seen birds come out of the nest box panting especially in the summer when it is warm. And they usually head right for a drink of water. This panting should stop soon after.

 

[Mary SL]

How is she doing now? If she is still favoring one leg you might do a check of her foot pad making sure there are no injuries to the pad. Make sure nothing is poking the webbing on the underside. Feel for heat in the foot and up near the hock, compare to the other leg for temp.

I have seen birds come out of the nest box panting especially in the summer when it is warm. And they usually head right for a drink of water. This panting should stop soon after.

She is still not walking as of yet-it’s been a few hours. I brought her inside to keep the other girls from packing at her tonight.

She is still panting but ate some grapes, meal worms, some shells and blueberries; her appetite seems fine and she did have normal looking stool. I have checked her foot and entire leg and cannot see/feel anything.

 

[TwoCrows]

She is still not walking as of yet-it’s been a few hours. I brought her inside to keep the other girls from packing at her tonight.

She is still panting but ate some grapes, meal worms, some shells and blueberries; her appetite seems fine and she did have normal looking stool. I have checked her foot and entire leg and cannot see/feel anything.

Is it hot where you live? Maybe she is a bit dehydrated with some heat stroke? Both of these will make them wobbly and panting.

Do you have a rooster, in that she got injured by spurs? Could she have flown down from a high roost and hit her head? I am just trying to think of all scenarios that might cause weakness.

Great that you brought her inside. Definitely keep her inside till tomorrow, and keep us posted!

 

[TwoCrows]

I am going to suggest to the Staff that this thread get moved to our Emergency forums just in case.

 

[Mary SL]

Is it hot where you live? Maybe she is a bit dehydrated with some heat stroke? Both of these will make them wobbly and panting.

Do you have a rooster, in that she got injured by spurs? Could she have flown down from a high roost and hit her head? I am just trying to think of all scenarios that might cause weakness.

Great that you brought her inside. Definitely keep her inside till tomorrow, and keep us posted!

It is hot but we have central air and it is pretty cool inside; hoping she is only panting from the “stress”. We have no rooster and the nesting boxes are about 14” off the floor. Could she have injured her pelvic area? I also checked her vent and it is clear and looks healthy. Our other girls all bounced back like this was nothing but she seems to be struggling

 

[TwoCrows]

It is hot but we have central air and it is pretty cool inside; hoping she is only panting from the “stress”. We have no rooster and the nesting boxes are about 14” off the floor. Could she have injured her pelvic area? I also checked her vent and it is clear and looks healthy. Our other girls all bounced back like this was nothing but she seems to be struggling

Heat stroke will leave them pretty weak and wobbly. Do you have any electrolytes or even pedialyte? These can't hurt. Anything is possible if she injured herself, generally there is heat with injuries. Does she cry out in pain when she tries to use her leg? Palpatate the leg around to make sure it moves like it should, it's not broken or out of its socket. If the leg or hip is injured in any way, she should show signs of pain when you move it around.

 

[TwoCrows]

Also, you can give her 1 baby asprin if you think she has pain. Put it in a raisin or blueberry, it will also help thin the blood to help cool her if she is overheated. It can take a bird several hours to recuperate from heat stroke.

 

[Lizzy733]

A few more checks you can do on the leg - confirm if there's any feeling in the toes. Does she react when a toe is pinched or squeezed? Numbness or lack of feeling in the toes would be indicative of paralysis, spinal swelling or injury. I've not seen passing eggs to be an issue with hens, but in reptiles, large stool or egg issues can cause temporary paralysis due to putting too much pressure on the spinal cord.

Also, if you extend and retract the leg, do the toes curl and uncurl? If not, this would be a slipped tendon.

Is she intentionally keeping weight off the, or is she attempting to still walk as though nothing's wrong? I'm assuming you have checked for bumblefoot, yeah? Typically, you'll still find them getting around with bumble, just treading carefully and avoiding putting weight on it.

 

[Mary SL]

Heat stroke will leave them pretty weak and wobbly. Do you have any electrolytes or even pedialyte? These can't hurt. Anything is possible if she injured herself, generally there is heat with injuries. Does she cry out in pain when she tries to use her leg? Palpatate the leg around to make sure it moves like it should, it's not broken or out of its socket. If the leg or hip is injured in any way, she should show signs of pain when you move it around.

No, nothing. I am truly stumped. I just checked on her and she is panting less. I put electrolytes in her water and she is drinking.
It has been REALLY hot the past few days, so she may be susceptible to heat stroke. I will continue to monitor her.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and insight! I have referred to this site often but this is my first post. You have made me feel less inept in my chicken care-giving skills. Thank you again!!