gout in chicken

[sehfergy]

any practical ideas on gout in my hen? she is 5 years old. the vet recommended low protein food but i am not sure how that can happen when i have 21 other chickens. we could give her meloxicam, but she actually doesn’t appear to be in pain so not sure if this would be helpful.

i just wanted to see what fellow chicken-loving chicken keepers suggest. thank you!

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have any pictures of your chicken’s feet? Unless you have been feeding a huge amount of protein in the diet, such as 30%, the protein was not the cause of the gout. A balanced diet would be best, and most feeds range between 16 and 20% protein. Scratch grains is only 7%, but lacks the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that a balanced feed has. It is also more fattening which can lead to being overweight. There are many possible causes of gout which you can read about here:
https://thepoultrysite.com/articles/gout-management-in-poultry
Many people take sour cherry extract to help with pain in gout, and some BYCers have used it on their chickens with gout.