Hen with vent problem and limp! *Pictures Please help!

[PsychoChicken]

My young BA hen (not laying yet) is supposed to be 7-8 months old but she barely has a comb or wattle and is very small. I got her when she was supposedly 4 months so I have no way of knowing how old she really is. She has been sick for at least a month. First she had a limp, then it went away. Then she started to smell bad and was having trouble pooping. Her food looked undigested and her vent looked crusty and hard. We found mites on her so we treated all the chickens for mites and worms this past week. We thought it could also be a a crop issue so we put out grit even though they are all free range.

Right before we treated her for mites/worms she started limping again! It's way worse than before. She lays down a lot and she hobbles around not using her bad foot at all but the elbow of that leg. I just gave her a bath to help with the smell and do a more thorough inspection and I found weird markings on her bad foot. They look a little like scabs but they aren't dry or crusty like scabs are. They aren't weeping but they just seem moist. I'm not sure what it is...

We treated the whole flock for mites and worms 4 days ago.

SYMPTOMS:
-limp
-looks like skin is coming off on parts of the bad leg
-bad foot feels warm compared to the other foot
-smells bad
-struggles to poo (makes a weird noise)
-under developed
-seems very light and under weight
-vent is leaking a smelly liquid poo
-vent seems to be opened up and has a hard, dark colored hood-like mass above it.
-she holds her tail down

 

[seminolewind]

I guess that stuff on her foot could be from mites (?) If she had worms and mites, that could have made her very weak. Maybe feed her a wet mash made from her crumbles. I hope she gets better.

 

[PsychoChicken]

My other young BA has started to limp as well. It is nowhere near as bad and I can't find any markings yet but I have separated them from the flock. I guess I will put them on some anti-biotics and see if that does anything...

 

[TeamChaos]

On the comb thing- I have several girls who had very little combs, just like that.

Are the two BAs related? Have you checked their range of motion on the limpy leg versus the healthy? Do they jump off a roost or have any daily activities that require jumping? I'm wondering if it's more of a long term weakness/sprain in the leg than an injury to the foot.

 

[PsychoChicken]

I think the two BAs are related. I bought them together about 4 months ago. The other one (who just started limping) has a bigger comb and wattle. I noticed she is also holding her tail down. the way the really sick one has been doing. These two have not been roosting. They sleep together in the nesting box usually. The ramp to get in and out of the nesting box is a little steep. The really sick one does not use her foot at all. She hobbles wit her "elbow" but doesn't move that much. The one who just started limping has been sitting more than normal. Here is a pic of the one who has better comb.

 

[seminolewind]

Is the first one's leg totally floppy and useless? Are they skinny? If you feel the breast is it sharp or do they have meat on them? Are they really eating or just looking like they're eating?

 

[PsychoChicken]

They are both eating, they both seem very light and underweight. Yes, I can feel the sharpness of the breast bone. There's hardly any meat on either of them. The bad leg is totally useless and floppy.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I wonder if she broke it somehow? Is your BA girl a black variety of blue andalusian? I'd say the other girl is not her sister... notice the red earlobes compared to the white ones. If they are from the same hen, then they have different daddies. Maybe that cat attacked her and caused her to hurt/break her leg? Is it the same leg on both hens? Did you check farther up, like on the thigh, for puncture wounds? I know its difficult with all the feathers and fluff but other than that, I don't know what it could be. Could you include pics of the problem with her vent? Maybe she received a scratch there?

 

[PsychoChicken]

Yeah, I have been wondering about the different colored ear lobes... the guy I bought them from did not specify about whether or not they were sisters. He said they were a July hatch and that was about it.

I will check again but I did not see any wounds other than the strange markings shown in the picture above. It actually looks like the skin is coming off. I don't think it's her thigh though because she really refuses to use her foot and it is very limp. My cat looks very ominous in the pic but in reality he was coming to see me because I crouched down to take the pic and he wasn't stalking the chicken at all. He's a goof ball and I have never seen him go after the chickens other than to be part of the flock.

I'll have to check to see if they are both limping on the same leg.

As for the vent pics I do have them. They are gross but here they are:




You can see how it's just kind of open and runny. Then there is a dark, hard hood over the top. It's really weird. I tried soaking her in warm water and it didn't seem to do anything.

 

[Hyline]

Could be vent gleet poor little love - I would take her down to an avian vet.