Help... hurt leg...

[HenOnAJuneBug]

One of my hens has an apparent hurt leg that she favors greatly. It hurts her to put weight on it, but she's a real champ and goes hard all day free ranging, even though she has to limp around. Great appetite. This has been going on for 2-3 days. I keep hoping for it to get better, but we're not there yet.

I decided to convalesce her inside until it's better. She was OK for a while and then started making noises. Since it was late I figured it would be OK to let her sleep in the coop, and then put her inside in the morning. Once she got to the coop she laid an egg. It had a thin shell; not very healthy looking. I found one just like it a day or two ago in the same nest. She didn't look steady on the roost so I brought her inside and have her in a brooder.

I'm spoiling her with lots of choice foods. I probably gave her 20 worms today. She has access to layer feed, crushed egg shells and oyster shell. I also feed her and the others eggs and scratch in the morning. They free range all day.

Do I just need to wait for it to heal, or is something else possibly going on?

Thanks in advance.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Could it be a calcium problem? The only reason I ask is because of the thin egg shells. Can a calcium deficiency cause a leg problem like I mentioned? I provide crushed egg shells and oyster shell for them to eat, but maybe she's not been eating it. And I did start mixing scratch with the layer feed, so maybe she picks out the scratch and doesn't eat the layer feed?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

One of my hens has an apparent hurt leg that she favors greatly. It hurts her to put weight on it, but she's a real champ and goes hard all day free ranging, even though she has to limp around. Great appetite. This has been going on for 2-3 days. I keep hoping for it to get better, but we're not there yet.

I decided to convalesce her inside until it's better. She was OK for a while and then started making noises. Since it was late I figured it would be OK to let her sleep in the coop, and then put her inside in the morning. Once she got to the coop she laid an egg. It had a thin shell; not very healthy looking. I found one just like it a day or two ago in the same nest. She didn't look steady on the roost so I brought her inside and have her in a brooder.

I'm spoiling her with lots of choice foods. I probably gave her 20 worms today. She has access to layer feed, crushed egg shells and oyster shell. I also feed her and the others eggs and scratch in the morning. They free range all day.

Do I just need to wait for it to heal, or is something else possibly going on?

Thanks in advance. How is she doing?

Since she is laying soft/thin shelled eggs, offer her some extra calcium and some poultry vitamins. Limit treats to no more than 5-10% of daily intake. Mixing scratch with the feed dilutes the protein content in feed, so that would be best to be given as a treat. They are like us, we want the good stuff all the time, so she may be picking through and getting out scratch instead of eating the nutritionally balanced feed.

Offer the oyster shell and egg shells free choice.

The limping is concerning - it could be from an injury or be a symptom of a laying problem. Internal laying/reproductive disorders can sometimes have symptoms like lameness/trouble walking, loss of appetite, loss of weight in the breast, difficulty laying (history of soft shell/shell-less eggs) and sometimes difficulty breathing as well.

You may want to place her in a wire kennel outside near the flock to limit her activity for a couple of days to see if she improves. Sprains/leg injuries can take a while to heal. Chickens will do everything they can to try to keep up, even if they are in pain.

Keep us posted.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Quote:
Thank you so much for responding. I have her immobilized in a brooder box (2 nights and one day so far). Haven't noticed any improvement yet. She still favors the right leg and limps. Other than that she seems to be doing well except for not liking being confined and away from the flock (she's in the house btw; the cats are being real gentlemen at my order). I've limited her diet to layer feed and crushed egg shells, and occasional worms/grubs when I find them while moving a wood pile. She didn't lay an egg her first day in captivity. I'll keep you posted.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

I just scrambled up some egg with crushed egg shell in it to make sure she gets calcium. She's gobbling it up

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

This is funny. One of my cats was curious about our guest chicken, and I told her she was hurt and to treat her with respect. A little while later she brought back - not a mouse - but a worm. So thoughtful. We all get long pretty good around here.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Quote:
Along, not long

 

[Wyorp Rock]

That's cute!

How is she doing - any improvement?

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Quote:
It's not gotten better, and may be worse. I'm wondering if her not exercising for 3 or 4 days has made her weaker. Tomorrow I'm going to put her in the run and let her do what she wants; the spring weather and being around the flock will be good for her. Then I'll bring her back inside at night, because there's no way she'll be able to sleep on the roost. I don't know what else to do. Her egg shells are still thin. Apart from that and being lame, she looks and acts very healthy. It's sad...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry she's not improving. Sunshine and being with the flock is a good idea. This sometimes encourages them.

Keep us posted.