Hen won't walk - seems off balance

[MegUrk]

One of our hens started acting weird last night. She seems otherwise healthy, alert, and interested in food (she's eating some frozen watermelon here in the photo) but she's not walking well. Last evening when we fed them dinner, we noticed she was limping and I realized her nails were pretty long. I gave them a trim to make sure that wasn't the problem. I also felt the leg she seemed to be favoring and she didn't react to pressure anywhere along that leg or foot and it didn't feel swollen or warm to the touch.

The only thing we can see is the scales/plates on her feet seem longer than normal. We thought she might pass overnight because she's 7, and chickens go quickly when something is wrong, but here she is, doing the same thing today. She's mostly been sitting like she is in the photo, rather than foraging on the coop floor like she normally would. She often goes broody, but hasn't been in the past month or so.

I will check for a bound egg when my husband gets home to help with our kiddo, but for now I thought I'd see if anyone had any ideas about what could be going on.

 

[MegUrk]

I didn't find a bound egg when we fed them tonight. She does feel like she's lost some weight. Why only have 2 hens and the other seems completely normal. It seems like an injury, rather than an illness, since she's alert and eating, just seems off-balance he unsteady on her feet. These photos are from this evening. My husband thinks her middle toes may be slightly swollen, but I didn't detect anything that seemed super unusual other than the long scales on her feet.

 

[Eggcessive]

You might want to get a better picture of her leg scales, but it looks like she may have scaly leg mites. I would soak her legs and feet in warm soapy water, and after drying them, apply a thick oil to her legs rubbing it into her scales to smother the leg mites. Repeat once a week. Older hens can also suffer from reproductive disorders that may make it more difficult to walk, and they may take a few steps and prefer to lie down or sit. A penguin walk is also typical.

 

[MegUrk]

You might want to get a better picture of her leg scales, but it looks like she may have scaly leg mites. I would soak her legs and feet in warm soapy water, and after drying them, apply a thick oil to her legs rubbing it into her scales to smother the leg mites. Repeat once a week. Older hens can also suffer from reproductive disorders that may make it more difficult to walk, and they may take a few steps and prefer to lie down or sit. A penguin walk is also typical.

Thank you so much for this response! I'll take a closer photo of her legs today. Is there anything we should do in the coop to stop the mites if that's what it ends up being? We have diatomaceous earth that we "foof" in there from time to time.

I'll keep you posted on the leg photo. Thank you!

 

[Eggcessive]

Some chickens get leg mites while others in the same coop do not. I have noticed that they affect the weaker or more dibilitated chickens. They might not wear down their toenails and the might not take dust baths as often. I am not a fan of DE, since it can cause eye and breathing problems in both the chickens and humans. Permethrin 10 spray concentrate mixed with water per label instructions is safe for chickens to treat the coop the next time you empty the old bedding and change it.

Ivermectin pour on is very effective agaist leg mites at a dosage of 0.1 ml per every 2 pounds of weight and repeated in 14 days. There is a 7 day egg withdrawal time.

 

[MegUrk]

I did get this photo last night... Not sure if that's helpful, but I think I'll not be able to get a much better one until this evening when I've got help wrangling our dog and 3-year-old.

 

[MegUrk]

Some chickens get leg mites while others in the same coop do not. I have noticed that they affect the weaker or more dibilitated chickens. They might not wear down their toenails and the might not take dust baths as often. I am not a fan of DE, since it can cause eye and breathing problems in both the chickens and humans. Permethrin 10 spray concentrate mixed with water per label instructions is safe for chickens to treat the coop the next time you empty the old bedding and change it.

Ivermectin pour on is very effective agaist leg mites at a dosage of 0.1 ml per every 2 pounds of weight and repeated in 14 days. There is a 7 day egg withdrawal time.

Super. She hasn't been laying the past week or two, anyway, so that may not be an issue for us. I'll see if I can find it at our local farm supply.

 

[MegUrk]

Would the reproductive issues you mentioned be something I could identify or treat?

 

[MegUrk]

Some chickens get leg mites while others in the same coop do not. I have noticed that they affect the weaker or more dibilitated chickens. They might not wear down their toenails and the might not take dust baths as often. I am not a fan of DE, since it can cause eye and breathing problems in both the chickens and humans. Permethrin 10 spray concentrate mixed with water per label instructions is safe for chickens to treat the coop the next time you empty the old bedding and change it.

Ivermectin pour on is very effective agaist leg mites at a dosage of 0.1 ml per every 2 pounds of weight and repeated in 14 days. There is a 7 day egg withdrawal time.

Here's a close-up of her feet. We soaked in warm water, oil, then Vaseline right before she went to roost tonight. She was very patient.

If this treatment doesn't seem to work, I'll get some ivermectin.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Eggcessive]

Leg mites are pretty obvious, any swelling could be gout. Let us know how she gets along.