Hello,
I have a beautiful little hen named Honey with a foot or leg problem - maybe.
First, she was inside a week ago, I found her sitting on the ground in their run cold and lethargic. I found that she had pooped on herself and it was so cold here (-40C) that it froze and stuck and of course the next time she pooped it just got... more stuck. She came in overnight for a bath & blow dry, a bit of sugar water and scrambled egg to help her perk up, and a cozy spot to sleep. Once bathed and warmed, she was starving and ate and drank great. I watched for several hours again the next day and since she was still fine I let her go back to the coop. I watched her there too and she jumped right back in, business as usual and did great all week with no more poop issues.
Now this afternoon, I noticed that she was walk/hopping funny. I watched her attempt a few steps and she was holding the one leg up against her belly, toes straight forward and held tight together (picture the long creepy fingers of an extremely old wrinkly hand from a horror movie, LOL). I brought her in immediately for an examination but found nothing. We did a foot soak, clean, and still nothing visible. On the affected foot her claw seems to have the tiniest superficial scrape - two of her scales are just a bit wonky, but still no blood, pus, redness, swelling, or noticeable heat. It just looks like the scales maybe scraped along something. I treated her as though it was an open wound with vetericyn, antibiotic, gauze pad and vet wrap.
I hoped the wrap might offer her some support and she'd put weight on it but she's still favoring it. She will set it down but no weight on it. She also won't sit/lay down for very long. She didn't show signs of pain or discomfort when I examined her and palpated the toes. There are no broken bones (that I can feel) and she's fine with me moving her limbs any which way. She doesn't seem to feel where her foot is and what it's doing, like when your foot is numb, and you have to lift your leg higher and flop your foot down to step forward. I don't think she can pull her toes up to walk normally. Her toes are not curled, just limp. She also paws at the air with the sore foot, way in front of her body. If she wasn't limping I wouldn't think she could feel anything at all. I'm wondering if she jumped down off the roost funny, or something like that?
To summarize (for anyone who doesn't want to read all that, LOL):
1. Back claw appears to have a superficial scrape
2. No blood, pus, swelling, or excessive heat
3. No broken bones, not egg bound
4. Will not bear weight, holds leg up against her belly
5. Cannot lift toes to step normally, has to lift high and flop toes down
6. No bumblefoot or other injuries or infection
7. Does not appear dizzy/lethargic or otherwise unwell, and she's eating/drinking very well.
Things already done:
1. Foot soak
2. Cleaned and used antimicrobial spray
3. Wrapped with a small gauze pad and vet wrap to gently hold foot in correct shape
4. I did have her in a sling seat for a bit to give both legs a break
5. Checked both legs and full body for any abnormalities, broken bones, etc.
Any thoughts you can offer on what might be going on for her, more things I should check or watch for, and how I can support the foot/leg or help her rest it would be greatly appreciated. I was going to take a photo of the foot but there's literally nothing to see, if that changes I will post one.
Thanks in advance!
I have a beautiful little hen named Honey with a foot or leg problem - maybe.
First, she was inside a week ago, I found her sitting on the ground in their run cold and lethargic. I found that she had pooped on herself and it was so cold here (-40C) that it froze and stuck and of course the next time she pooped it just got... more stuck. She came in overnight for a bath & blow dry, a bit of sugar water and scrambled egg to help her perk up, and a cozy spot to sleep. Once bathed and warmed, she was starving and ate and drank great. I watched for several hours again the next day and since she was still fine I let her go back to the coop. I watched her there too and she jumped right back in, business as usual and did great all week with no more poop issues.
Now this afternoon, I noticed that she was walk/hopping funny. I watched her attempt a few steps and she was holding the one leg up against her belly, toes straight forward and held tight together (picture the long creepy fingers of an extremely old wrinkly hand from a horror movie, LOL). I brought her in immediately for an examination but found nothing. We did a foot soak, clean, and still nothing visible. On the affected foot her claw seems to have the tiniest superficial scrape - two of her scales are just a bit wonky, but still no blood, pus, redness, swelling, or noticeable heat. It just looks like the scales maybe scraped along something. I treated her as though it was an open wound with vetericyn, antibiotic, gauze pad and vet wrap.
I hoped the wrap might offer her some support and she'd put weight on it but she's still favoring it. She will set it down but no weight on it. She also won't sit/lay down for very long. She didn't show signs of pain or discomfort when I examined her and palpated the toes. There are no broken bones (that I can feel) and she's fine with me moving her limbs any which way. She doesn't seem to feel where her foot is and what it's doing, like when your foot is numb, and you have to lift your leg higher and flop your foot down to step forward. I don't think she can pull her toes up to walk normally. Her toes are not curled, just limp. She also paws at the air with the sore foot, way in front of her body. If she wasn't limping I wouldn't think she could feel anything at all. I'm wondering if she jumped down off the roost funny, or something like that?
To summarize (for anyone who doesn't want to read all that, LOL):
1. Back claw appears to have a superficial scrape
2. No blood, pus, swelling, or excessive heat
3. No broken bones, not egg bound
4. Will not bear weight, holds leg up against her belly
5. Cannot lift toes to step normally, has to lift high and flop toes down
6. No bumblefoot or other injuries or infection
7. Does not appear dizzy/lethargic or otherwise unwell, and she's eating/drinking very well.
Things already done:
1. Foot soak
2. Cleaned and used antimicrobial spray
3. Wrapped with a small gauze pad and vet wrap to gently hold foot in correct shape
4. I did have her in a sling seat for a bit to give both legs a break
5. Checked both legs and full body for any abnormalities, broken bones, etc.
Any thoughts you can offer on what might be going on for her, more things I should check or watch for, and how I can support the foot/leg or help her rest it would be greatly appreciated. I was going to take a photo of the foot but there's literally nothing to see, if that changes I will post one.
Thanks in advance!
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