Hen Limping, then Lame, Now pecking Hole in her Back!

[innof8happinesses]

Hello, we have one of our favorite hens in trouble. She is a 5+ y/o Barred Rock. She started limping a few months ago. I know that seems long ago but we were hopeful she would recover. We just made life easier but didn't treat her leg and it didn't look broken. We suspected old age... Her leg never swelled. Her leg got SKINNY. Now it is lame and seems useless. What is WORSE is that she is pecking a large hole in her own back! It is a half dollar size and getting deep! We have her on antibiotics and electrolytes. But she is eating and drinking well. She can get around some. What on EARTH can be causing this?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
Are you absolutely sure she is doing the pecking? if so check her real good for lice or mites. also pain can make animals do weird things to themselves. Get a product called blue-kote and apply it to this wound, maybe the color purple will take her mind off of it. if she does have parasites you'll need to treat her and all your flock plus coop. Theres a link i will send you about leg problems might not be able to fix this but might be able to make her life a little easier. All the best.
https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/

 

[innof8happinesses]

Thank you Miss Lydia! I will check into all of this. We are sure she is doing the pecking.

I wonder if I should do some type of pain relief?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
I know you can give chickens baby aspirin, don't know the dosage, but other pain meds would have to come from a vet. I'll see if I can find the dosage for you.

 

[Miss Lydia]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=239791
read the entire posts.

 

[innof8happinesses]

Thanks again! I did see dosages on the Poultry Podiatry page! Great link!! We read every possible leg problem and cannot match it to her. We also cannot see any mites or lice. No other chickens from the 35+ flock have any sign either. But we will do a parasite sweep just in case. I wish I knew what started all of this. I know she is older. But it is terrible to see them suffer... then hurt themselves.

 

[genevieve]

I would be suspicious of a tumor affecting the nerve in the leg. The nerve runs down the back, through the kidney and into the leg. Most likely when it was small it just affected her walking, but if it has grown it might be causing her pain.

 

[innof8happinesses]

Interesting Genevieve... do you think that could be why she is pecking a hole in her back where her kidneys are located?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
the only way you would know for sure is to take her to an avain vet, which most of us can't afford. why not try to see if it's pain first by treating with baby aspirin. and also treating the wound she has made on herself. that way you would have at least crossed off those 2 reason. Please keep us updated on how she is. you might be able to use something from the plumbing store to make a cast [sortof] for her. Maybe some of that pipe insullation that you could wrap and tape around her leg except for the area where she bends her leg. just to see if it helps her get around better. Don't know if it would work just trying to think of things that might help.