On Friday I went into my coop and found a hen huddled in the corner. I picked her up (which she normally wouldn't let me do) and sat her down where I could look at her and she was letting her wing hang down. I figured it must be broken. We have too many roosters and are in the process of culling them, and lately they have been aggressive so I figured they must've done it.
I went to figure out what to do and get bandages to wrap her wing when I heard a hen squawking and ran over to find 2 roosters on top of her attacking her. So I grabbed her and got her out of the coop and put her in a large dog crate. I observed her and she would hold her wing normal and only occasionally let it hang. I felt both wings and neither felt like there was a break and she wasn't particularly tender anywhere.
So I thought I'd keep her isolated from the flock and observe her, so I kept her in the crate inside the coop. She's been eating and acting normal, aside from not wanting to do much and not resisting when I pick her up. So yesterday (Sunday) I pulled her out of the crate and sat her down in the coop to observe her and she walked over to the food bowl with a limp (but was holding her wings normal). I picked her up and examined her feet and legs and on the bottom of one of her feet it looked like crusty green poop stuck to it. So I picked at it to see if it would come off and it appeared to be a crust on her feet. I did a search online and the only thing I could find was bumble foot but her joints aren't swollen and the crust looked green.
So I still wasn't sure if it was poop or what so I soaked her foot in warm epsom salt water for 5 minutes and then the green crust turned to soft brown gunk. So I figured it was poop but then when I wiped at it with the towel it still appeared to be some sort of scab on her foot. So I soaked it again today and there is less of it. I rinsed it with peroxide. She's in the crate in the basement now and when I took her in the bathroom to put the peroxide on she wouldn't walk on a towel (or the tile) so I can't tell if she's still limping.
So I am wondering:
1. What could this foot condition be?
2. I don't think her wing was broken, only sore from the roosters attacking her, and could they have attacked her because she was limping and she appeared weak? I have a rather nervous hen that the roosters seem to single out so I am thinking that maybe they go after the weaker hens?
Thanks everyone for your help!
Missy
I went to figure out what to do and get bandages to wrap her wing when I heard a hen squawking and ran over to find 2 roosters on top of her attacking her. So I grabbed her and got her out of the coop and put her in a large dog crate. I observed her and she would hold her wing normal and only occasionally let it hang. I felt both wings and neither felt like there was a break and she wasn't particularly tender anywhere.
So I thought I'd keep her isolated from the flock and observe her, so I kept her in the crate inside the coop. She's been eating and acting normal, aside from not wanting to do much and not resisting when I pick her up. So yesterday (Sunday) I pulled her out of the crate and sat her down in the coop to observe her and she walked over to the food bowl with a limp (but was holding her wings normal). I picked her up and examined her feet and legs and on the bottom of one of her feet it looked like crusty green poop stuck to it. So I picked at it to see if it would come off and it appeared to be a crust on her feet. I did a search online and the only thing I could find was bumble foot but her joints aren't swollen and the crust looked green.
So I still wasn't sure if it was poop or what so I soaked her foot in warm epsom salt water for 5 minutes and then the green crust turned to soft brown gunk. So I figured it was poop but then when I wiped at it with the towel it still appeared to be some sort of scab on her foot. So I soaked it again today and there is less of it. I rinsed it with peroxide. She's in the crate in the basement now and when I took her in the bathroom to put the peroxide on she wouldn't walk on a towel (or the tile) so I can't tell if she's still limping.
So I am wondering:
1. What could this foot condition be?
2. I don't think her wing was broken, only sore from the roosters attacking her, and could they have attacked her because she was limping and she appeared weak? I have a rather nervous hen that the roosters seem to single out so I am thinking that maybe they go after the weaker hens?
Thanks everyone for your help!
Missy
