Hen favoring foot + other issues

Akston

In the Brooder
Nov 25, 2018
10
6
14
Hi! I have a hen with a few issues, ones I am not 100% sure if are related or separate. I am not the most versed in chicken keeping, as I suddenly inherited (basically) this flock 2 years ago, but I have tried to learn on the go. So if I say something silly, sorry!

That being said.

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
I am unsure of her exact type, so I took a few pictures. She is approximately 2 1/2 to 3 years old.
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2) What is the behavior, exactly.
She has 3 issues that I have noticed.
-- Skips/Hops on one foot, or sometimes stands on one foot, favoring a particular leg (she does not like using her right foot)
-- I sometimes see a cloudlike mucuslike substance coming from her beak/nose area.
-- I noticed her coordination seems to be a little off. When I was giving her a small piece of a baby aspirin, I wrapped it in bread. It took her a few tries to get the bread piece, as she kept coming up short on her pecking attempt by a good 1-2 inches.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
-- I have noticed the symptoms for foot symptom for about 2 days. The mucus/coordination one I just noticed today
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
-- No
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
-- No
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
-- Nothing I am aware of. The only thing I can think that is different from this hen is that she is currently my rooster's favorite. For example, she often stays in the roost long hours to avoid him, as he doesnt bother anyone that is inside.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
-- The diet is no different than any other hen. I have my feed, they range in my back yard most daylight hours. Colder nights I give them an evening snack. Corn, oatmeal.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
-- I have not been able to notice hers specifically.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
-- I checked for Bumblefoot when I first noticed her hopping/skipping
-- I picked her up and checked for any noticeable injuries, feeling for any warm spots. Also to see if she'd react to any specific touching of specific areas.
-- I have done what I could to check for egg-binding. Physically checking, as well as giving her a warm bath, and some alone time.
-- I gave her a partial baby aspirin
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
-- I would like to treat her myself if it is possible.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
-- No noticeable wounds.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
-- 3 layers of roosting bars , progressively higher. Highest is about 4 feet off the ground, lowest is about 2.5 feet. She typically sleeps on the highest bar. All in side a small wooden building.

Additional information
Outside of the specific things I have mentioned, she does not "act" sick or out of it. She still runs (well..hops/skips) to me when I show up in the yard thinking I may have a treat. She still wanders around the yard like normal. She does not sit/etc more than normal. She does not sneeze, cough (that I have noticed).

If there is any more additional information I can provide, just ask!

Thanks in advance for all the help. While I don't post here often, I lurk here a lot and have found yall to be a great amount of information as I've tried to learn how to be a good chicken owner. :)
 
Have you checked for bumblefoot? Sorry your hen isn't feeling well. Look on the top of the foot for bumps and look on the bottom (sole) for brownish plugs. Bumblefoot can and will make chickens limp.
 
No joints felt warm. This I did specifically look for. I am not nearly coordinated enough to hold her steady and get a decent picture of her foot. I will try to get some assistance. She was never one that liked to be held much and gets a little squirmy if I am not holding her very firmly. She is a nice hen, but prefers liking you from a distance.
 
Nothing that stands out in that regard. As she is the current favorite of my rooster (he always seems to know exactly where she is, and tries to semi often chase her down to hop on), I could see an awkward/mistimed foot placement causing an issue.

And concerning the rooster. He never mistreats her (or any hen). He is quite protective, and I never see any negative/mean actions from him to any other. He just..fancies her the most ( I have 12 hens total with the one rooster ).

I gave her 1/2 of a baby aspirin in an effort to see if it was merely pain, if she would go back to walking on it like normal when the medicine kicked in..but this did not happen.
 
Sorry to hear about your chicken. It is really difficult to access the situation without photos of her feet, so it will be good to get those up.
It is possible there was an accidental injury caused by the Rooster - if she is injured she is going to need some time out from him to heal.

I sometimes see a cloudlike mucuslike substance coming from her beak/nose area.
photo(s) of this would also be helpful. Any substance coming from her nose/beak are would need to be investigated.
Also, try to find out what her poop looks like - again, photos would help.

Eagerly awaiting photos please :pop
 
I have been unable to catch her in the act of poo-ing or runny nose.

I was able to get some feet glamour shots though. I feel bad because I didn't realize they were a little dirty. Should have cleaned em a bit.

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It is her right foot that is the one she is favoring..and it was not until posting these pictures I noticed the right foot is darker in color than the left.
 
Thank you for the photos. She has scaly leg mites, not too bad but they are there. This can pain them and make them uncomfortable if untreated. Just soak her feet in warm epsom salt water for 15 minutes then coat them in Vaseline. For this case, I would do this at very least twice a week ongoing until it is visibly improving. As new scales are growing you can space the treatments further apart.

It would help if you could take another picture of underneath once you soak her feet. It's difficult to see properly, but it looks like there may be an inflamed (possible) cut on her right footpad top center. Can you see it looking at the photo? Again though, hard to see properly. A soak will make it much easier.

I can see what you are saying about the difference in the colour and I don't know what that may be or if it is nothing to worry about! I would wonder about it being from an injury to her leg (blood flow) but hopefully someone else here will know more on that!
 

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