Foot problem?

[trista85]

Hello all! I have a 4 month old brahma pullet that was not out and about with the others when I got home yesterday. I found her under a tree, and at first thought she was just napping but when she got up to come see me I noticed that she was hesitant to put weight on her right leg and her tail feathers are pretty droopy.
I felt all along the leg and her foot and nothing felt broken, and no heat/swelling - this morning either. I nestled her in the corner of the coop for the night. This morning she was in the run with the others, still eating/drinking, but instead of letting her range out with the rest of the flock today I left her in the run. I have a small area that I'm able to section off from the rest so she can have food and water but be able to rest.

I don't see any scrapes or cuts, my first thought was that she may have been hit but I don't see any wounds. If there's still no heat or swelling when I get home could it be something else? I've only had one other foot injury before, and it was pretty clear what the cause was that time and the bird healed quickly. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[azygous]

It's funny how we don't see things unless we know what it is we're looking for. Let's do another foot and leg exam.

Look at the bottoms of the feet for scabs and current lesions. Then examine the toe nails for hang nails or any thorns possibly jammed into the nail bed.

Look between the toes at the webbing between for signs of greenish bruising. Sometimes a panicked chicken will throw themselves feet first against something they want to get beyond if they think something is after them.

Look for greenish bruising along the legs. Next look at the scales for any signs of lifting up. Scales should be flush with the leg and foot.

Look high up on the leg for signs of a slipped tendon. See if she will curl her toes when you put pressure on the bottoms of her feet.

 

[trista85]

It's funny how we don't see things unless we know what it is we're looking for. Let's do another foot and leg exam.

Look at the bottoms of the feet for scabs and current lesions. Then examine the toe nails for hang nails or any thorns possibly jammed into the nail bed.

Look between the toes at the webbing between for signs of greenish bruising. Sometimes a panicked chicken will throw themselves feet first against something they want to get beyond if they think something is after them.

Look for greenish bruising along the legs. Next look at the scales for any signs of lifting up. Scales should be flush with the leg and foot.

Look high up on the leg for signs of a slipped tendon. See if she will curl her toes when you put pressure on the bottoms of her feet.

Thank you! I'll give her a through look over again when I get home this afternoon. On the off chance it is the tendon, what do I do for that?

 

[azygous]

http://bcpoultryhobbyfarmingnetwork.weebly.com/fix-slipped-tendon.html