- Jun 3, 2012
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This is my Blue Laced Red Wyandotte that had spent a lot of time broody this winter Now she is very light weight, and is having trouble walking. I am giving her fermented feed, with some scratch mixed in, and fresh greens, and fruit twice daily. She is eating well, and her bowels seem pretty good. However she doesn't really bear any weight on one foot. Instead she paws lightly at the bedding with it. She can control her leg, and she holds the foot up. When she takes a couple steps she tries to use the foot, but limps heavily. I think it is numb. In the bottom picture the second toe from the right is no longer attached to the foot. Her toes seem stiff, and hard. She is a bit grumpy with the chicks. But she seems to like being with them. They can be aggressive with her, so she puts them in their place. However she doesn't hurt them, When they want to cuddle with her, she seems to like it. I have her in the 4' x 8' utility trailer in the garage with lights and a heat lamp. She is sharing the space with 18 chicks.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. She is from a breeder. When I got her I considered her, and the two others that I bought at the same time to be rescues. They were very under weight. At 10 weeks they were in short stacked cages in the back of a closed garage. They had little to no water, and had picked on each other heavily. The breeder tried to stop me from seeing the cages, and the other chickens still in there. I took all that I had enough cash to purchase. She mentioned that she had to replace her layers every year. Based on her basic care of her animals, I wasn't surprised, but horrified. I would like to save her if possible, but I don't want her to suffer at all. If she is happy with the chicks, then she has what she has wanted all winter.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I just have no idea what happened to her.
