Hen's Leg Cocked to One Side

[Todd Rose]

Hey everyone. I have a RIR that I woke up to today with a funky leg. She's been behaving totally normal otherwise. Eating, drinking, walking around. Running away when I tried to catch her to investigate the leg. I finally got her and the bottom of her foot is good to go. I felt up her leg and it was good from hock up to the thigh.

When I touched her hock, she pulled her leg in. I did that a couple of times just to make sure. Also did it to her other leg as a control test, nothing on the right leg. Thus I'm presuming that's where the problem lies. She can stand on her left (the bad one) leg just fine. But when she walks around it's all cocked out to the side and she seems to be leaning over in that direction. I've attached a video! You can really see it in the beginning and in the end of the video.

Thanks for all your help!

 

[Eggcessive]

i am not an expert, but she looks a little like she has a slipped tendon from an injury or from a leg bone deformity called valgus deformity. Sometimes the hock tendon can rupture with age. Do you think she could have injured it? It never hurts to use some poultry vitamins containing riboflavin for leg problems. Here is some info about varus valgus deformities:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1051/leg-health-in-large-broilers/
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul.../noninfectious-skeletal-disorders-in-broilers
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/valgus-varus-deformity

 

[Todd Rose]

All of my girls are the same age about six months old. I couldn’t imagine that she injured her self but I can’t say for sure. I’ll take a closer look at that article and see if it fits the description of what’s going on with the bird.

It just seems odd she was totally normal yesterday but today she’s walking goofy. Thanks for the link I’ll be sure to check it out.

I just read through that article and it seems to apply more to broilers then to laying hens. She’s never had any signs whatsoever of leg trouble or a deformity. Like I said yesterday she was normal today her leg is cocked out to the side. I’m watching her right now. And she scratching the ground, walking around and behaving like she does every other day.

 

[Eggcessive]

Those leg bone deformities are common in all chickens and turkeys as well. But an injury could also cause her leg problems. If she starts showing that or favoring her leg tomorrow, you can try spearating her in a dog crate with food and water, but keep her with the other chickens. Hopefully, she just had a temporary problem.

 

[Todd Rose]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, hopefully it goes away. She went up in the coop and roosted this evening. So we'll see.

Thanks again

 

[Chris2015]

I had a hen, Sweetie Pie who had a leg deformity that was so bad the other girls were quite cruel to her, so we put her in the “ travel run” we had and put a nesting box in it, a roof on it and raised it up on treated lumber( found out that one must use treated lumber when placing wood in ground for a raise garden.... or it rots quickly) she seemed happy as she could see the other girls and had a nice roof and got plenty of treats that others didn’t get (I’m a sucker for under dogs) she laid a few eggs but that quit after 6 months she had to use her left wing as a crutch to get around, so we’d let her out to walk in grass (where other girls could not see). When she was in coop we had a pacing stone for her to rest against as her wing would get tired- she slept in the nesting box. During the winter we had a tarp around her run as well as Hannibal’s (actually a few tarps) and also during rainy season- both stayed warm and dry. Sweetie Pie lived 3 years- which considering the fact that she has a huge infection when she was separated from the flock, and the injury to her leg- was a decent time. I do miss her as she was very gentle and gave a special trill to me