Hen limps, no sign of injury or bumblefoot, has diarrhea

[Cooptown Lady]

Rosie, my 2 yr old RIR hen, has been limping for a couple weeks. She also has brown diarrhea. No visual sign of worms. Her appetite is very good and she drinks a lot. Her feathers are grown back in after molting. Her comb is pale and whitish (not lice eggs) and firm. Her weight is normal and stable.

She's part of a flock of four. She, along with two others stopped laying with the onset of cold weather. Throughout the day she participates in the usual activities with the other hens, but takes more breaks and sometimes acts "out of it".

I examined her feet. No cuts, no swelling, no discoloration. Both feet are normal and identical. Obviously she doesn't like to put weight on the one foot and I can't figure out why. She doesn't seem to be getting any worse nor is she getting any better.

I'm putting Hydro-Hen 3-in-1 (probiotics/electrolytes/acidifiers) in the hens' waterer which is probably why all the hens, except Rosie, are laying again and look in great shape.

Anyone have any ideas what is going on? Thanks in advance . . .

P.S. Forgot to include my hens' diet is layer crumbles, scratch feed, and scrambled eggs a couple times a week, plus they free range.

 

[Cooptown Lady]

When I posted, similar threads popped up and I read about treatments for limping. Sorry, should have found that sooner! But that doesn't explain the brown, loose poop . . . .

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Pictures of the hen and her poop might be helpful, but if she has an unusually pale comb that's a sign of anemia and I'd think she either has mites and/or a heavy worm load. To check for mites it's best to look at the roost bars at night when the mites come out to feed. If you run a paper towel over the bars (top bottom and sides) you'll see streaks of brown and red from squished mites if you have them. You can have a vet do a fecal float test to check for worms, but if you haven't dewormed recently I just go ahead and treat your flock with safeguard or valbazen. Her poop is probably runny because she drinking a lot of water which can also be a sign of worms.

 

[Cooptown Lady]

Thanks for your reply and advice. I've been thinking I should deworm the flock. I hesitated because I didn't want to do more harm than good.

I'll check for mites and get some dewormer for her. Thanks again.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Rosie, my 2 yr old RIR hen, has been limping for a couple weeks. She also has brown diarrhea. No visual sign of worms. Her appetite is very good and she drinks a lot. Her feathers are grown back in after molting. Her comb is pale and whitish (not lice eggs) and firm. Her weight is normal and stable.

Photos of Rosie and her poop would be good.

You don't mention if she's come back into lay after molt. If not, then this may be the reason for her comb to be pale. Photos will help of course. Whitish could just be coloring or dry skin in cold weather.

Drinking a lot of water - check her crop first thing in the morning to see that it's emptying overnight.

The limping, hard to know what's happening there. If she's been limping for a couple of weeks, no better no worse and she's staying relatively active with her flock, then I'd be inclined to observe her for now and see if the issue resolves itself.

 

[Cooptown Lady]

Thanks for responding.

All have resumed laying, except for Rosie. I'm not 100% sure of this because Rosie's eggs are the same color as one of my other hens. However, I've seen that other hen in a nesting box whereas I haven't seen Rosie in there. So Rosie's probably the one not laying.

Her comb is improving very slightly.

Re her limp, I appreciate the reassurance for my decision to wait and see.

I would like to feel her crop first thing in the morning, but, unfortunately, that's unlikely to happen. Rosie is so skittish that I have to wait for her to give me an opportunity to pick her up (when she's distracted). Plus I don't want to chase her due to the limp.

Comparing her profile in the morning to when her crop is full after eating, it looks good.

Today I'm going to Tractor Supply for dewormer. '

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Go out in the morning while she's still roosting to check the crop.

 

[Cooptown Lady]

Thanks to all who replied. I dewormed the flock and Rosie is doing much better. She vomited worms and pooped worms. She isn't so ravenously hungry as before, her limp is lessening, and her comb is not quite as pale as before. She is recovering.

I give her the 10-days-after, second dose of Safeguard tomorrow.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks to all who replied. I dewormed the flock and Rosie is doing much better. She vomited worms and pooped worms. She isn't so ravenously hungry as before, her limp is lessening, and her comb is not quite as pale as before. She is recovering.

I give her the 10-days-after, second dose of Safeguard tomorrow.

She vomited worms and pooped them out too? Were you able to i.d. the type of worm?

If that's the case, then I'd give the Safeguard (Fenbendazole) for 5 days in a row at 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once daily.

Giving once, then repeating in 10 days only treats Roundworms.

I'm glad she's doing a little better.

 

[Cooptown Lady]

Hi, Wyorp,

I did not know this. Thank you!

I looked at photos of worm types and I'm pretty sure they aren't roundworms. They were small, oblong specks (not like the segments you see in dog poop). Possibly larvae of roundworms but not seeing any adult roundworms, I think it's quite possibly some other type of worm.

So I will give Rosie Safeguard today and for the next four days.