Help! My chicken has a severe limp.

[MaranOwner123]

Hi all,

I noticed a few days that one of my hens has a nasty limp. She can put barely any weight on it and only stands up if someone picks her up or to get food. She is usually a very strong hen so I don’t know what it could be.

I took a look at her feet and noticed one of the pads is very inflamed and also feels slightly warmer than the other foot. (I will try and attatch photos). However there is no open wound.

Do you have any suggestions on what it could be ? And if so how do I treat it to get her up and running as soon as possible?

Photos: the first is the leg she is limping on which I think is slightly swollen.

The second is her other foot, for a comparison.

 

[DobieLover]

How high are your roosts and what are you using for bedding in the coop/landing zone? How thick is the bedding?
Have you examined the leg all the way up to the hip?

For the time being, I would put her in a wire dog crate with food and water in a permanently shady spot in the run to let her rest. At a minimum, she needs crate rest for at least 10 days.

 

[MaranOwner123]

How high are your roosts and what are you using for bedding in the coop/landing zone? How thick is the bedding?
Have you examined the leg all the way up to the hip?

For the time being, I would put her in a wire dog crate with food and water in a permanently shady spot in the run to let her rest. At a minimum, she needs crate rest for at least 10 days.

Thanks for your reply.

The roosting bars are about 50 cm high in the hen house and the bedding is wood shavings a few cm thick.

I examined the leg and saw nothing wrong with it above the "ankle?"

I soaked her foot in some water for a few minutes to get any dirt off and this is it after:

I saw that there is a dark spot which made me think that a thorn or rock was stuck in there; but after a closer look with some tweezers I couldn't find anything so i still have no idea what it could be.

Any suggestions would be useful, thank you very much.

 

[DobieLover]

Any suggestions would be useful, thank you very much.

Crate rest in thick dry bedding for 7-10 days.

 

[MaranOwner123]

UPDATE: I followed your advice and the limp has resolved by itself. Thank you for your help!