Update: I have been attempting to treat my hen, and I keep her in a pen by herself. Her legs are not getting better. 2 days ago I was horrified to notice she had tiny mites crawling around her eyes. She preens constantly and I realized she must have mites that are bothering her skin. I am looking to buy some diatomaceous earth for external use for the mites, but in the meantime I "gave" her a dustbath myself because she is unable to use her legs and feet to kick the dirt on herself. It wasn't easy, and I think she hated it. She couldn't even shake the dust off herself, so I had to shake the dirt off her too. It seemed to help a tiny bit (less preening). None of the other chickens have mites or this condition -- I checked them.
She still eats and drinks and isn't acting droopy, but her legs are not improving and I'm realizing that I might just be torturing her by keeping her alive in this state. My best guess at this point is that in her weakened condition she is starting to have secondary issues, such as the mites. Her weight is not gaining, in fact I think she's losing. She has some strange bulges and ligaments at her back and neck area that I think are related to her crookedness. If she acted more "sick" I might not feel so bad about putting her out of her misery, but it's more of a functional issue with her immobility and her legs not functioning. She sits on the ground on her haunches, hocks flat, most of the day and occassionally drags herself along in tiny painful looking mini-steps with her useless feet curled inward.
So all this to say I'm looking for some moral turpitude to possibly decide if I should set her free (cull her) or keep her going despite knowing it could be a long, slow decline.
