Hen is Limping with No Visible wounds

[Thegrumpyhen]

My two year old black star hen has been limping for a month now. There were no visible wounds so we thought she would recover on her own. Her scales are smooth and she doesn’t have bumblefoot. When I bend her leg, her toes will curl up half the time, but other times they will stay loose and floppy. She has also been spending a lot of her time in a nestbox, although she appears to have a good appetite. Does anyone know what might be the problem?

 

[theoldchick]

Yep, I see her limping. She does look like she's getting a lot of attention from the rooster. Get your hands on her and examine her closely. Examine each toe and work your way up the leg to her hock and hip. Move the leg around and feel/listen for a crunchy sound. Look for wounds, too This could be a case where the rooster has traumatized her back by over mating her.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I didn’t think very often, our rooster isn’t really the chasing type… Her back hasn’t grown feathers back since we got a bad rooster, but we got rid of him a long time ago. I just thought she might have not molted yet.

I'd examine her more closely as @theoldchick suggested and do observe to see if the new rooster is harassing her.

I've had hens injure/sprain legs by running into fencing (saw it happen), avoiding roosters, etc. It does take time to heal, even if you cage them. I'm one to just bandage legs for support and let the hen self-limit activity unless she's in a lot of distress and being picked on.
The limping could be from something else, but the way she moves reminds me of what I've seen due to injury.

 

[azygous]

Let's see if we can narrow this down some. If you are comfortable handling her, I'd like for you to do some tests.

When she has calmed down and is relaxed move to a spot where there's a flat surface at comfortable waist to eye level (table). Stand her up on it and watch to see if one or both legs offer strong resistance or if one or both buckle, which would indicate weakness.

Next, lay her on your lap and dangle her legs off to the side. Gently tap them so they move up and down, back and forth. Is there resistance or do one or both dangle lifelessly?

Next, tempt her with a treat to get her to walk. Observe her gait. Is it even? Which leg appears to be weak? Is her balance good or does she appear to be off balance and unsure of her footing?

Next, stand her up and see if her toes will curl around your finger. when you push against the bottom of her foot. Is one foot weaker than the other? Does it match up with the weak leg? Or would you say both feet curl tightly equally?

Last, while laying on your lap, gently manipulate the legs and feet in different directions but don't force them into unnatural positions. Does she flinch or resist or cry out when the leg is in a certain position. If you hear a cry when the leg is in a certain position, do not force it beyond that. This could indicate an injury.

Report your results and we'll try to interpret them and try come to some conclusions and a possible treatment.

 

[azygous]

Are her head and neck movements normal? If so, this could be a vitamin B-2 deficiency. It's easy enough to treat. Get some B-complex where they sell vitamin supplements. Get B-100 or B-50 as they have higher concentrations of B-2, 6 and 12, all critical for leg strength and healthy nerve connections. One tablet directly in the beak once a day. You should be patient as it can take two to four weeks to see improvement.

I agree with @theoldchick a video would be most helpful.

 

[Thegrumpyhen]

Are her head and neck movements normal? If so, this could be a vitamin B-2 deficiency. It's easy enough to treat. Get some B-complex where they sell vitamin supplements. Get B-100 or B-50 as they have higher concentrations of B-2, 6 and 12, all critical for leg strength and healthy nerve connections. One tablet directly in the beak once a day. You should be patient as it can take two to four weeks to see improvement.

I agree with @theoldchick a video would be most helpful.

Her head and neck movements are normal. She seems alert, but still limping and hiding

 

[Wyorp Rock]

To me, it looks like she's probably sprained her leg somehow.
How often is she chased down and mated during the day?

 

[Thegrumpyhen]

I didn’t think very often, our rooster isn’t really the chasing type… Her back hasn’t grown feathers back since we got a bad rooster, but we got rid of him a long time ago. I just thought she might have not molted yet.

 

[Thegrumpyhen]

Ok, thank you for all of your help!

 

[Thegrumpyhen]

Let's see if we can narrow this down some. If you are comfortable handling her, I'd like for you to do some tests.

When she has calmed down and is relaxed move to a spot where there's a flat surface at comfortable waist to eye level (table). Stand her up on it and watch to see if one or both legs offer strong resistance or if one or both buckle, which would indicate weakness.

Next, lay her on your lap and dangle her legs off to the side. Gently tap them so they move up and down, back and forth. Is there resistance or do one or both dangle lifelessly?

Next, tempt her with a treat to get her to walk. Observe her gait. Is it even? Which leg appears to be weak? Is her balance good or does she appear to be off balance and unsure of her footing?

Next, stand her up and see if her toes will curl around your finger. when you push against the bottom of her foot. Is one foot weaker than the other? Does it match up with the weak leg? Or would you say both feet curl tightly equally?

Last, while laying on your lap, gently manipulate the legs and feet in different directions but don't force them into unnatural positions. Does she flinch or resist or cry out when the leg is in a certain position. If you hear a cry when the leg is in a certain position, do not force it beyond that. This could indicate an injury.

Report your results and we'll try to interpret them and try come to some conclusions and a possible treatment.

When she stands, she only puts her weight on her left leg. Her left leg resists when I push up on it, and her right foot won’t close around my finger. Her balance seems off and she sort of hoops with one foot then balances with the other. She doesn’t appear to have pain when I move her foot around.