Is this a badly healed broken foot? Is she in pain? Help!

[Kiki]

Martin's PERMETHRIN spray

• Kiki
• Mar 22, 2018
• 6
• flies lice mites permethrin

Martin's Horse & Stable Permethrin Spray

• Kiki
• Mar 22, 2018
• flies lice mites permethrin

Permethrin

 

[KaseySnow]

I understand that it's cheap, but I'm poor and don't have a reliable vehicle to go anywhere, so I'm going to have to wait for the museum lady to get the stuff. I'll tell her about the Permethrin, thanks for the pictures.

I only have small nail clippers, I don't think they would work and I'd rather use something made for the job since she's picking stuff up in the next day or so. Not much I could do right away anyhow since they are so long, haha. I imagine I'll have to trim them gradually over time so I don't cut the quick and cause her pain.

 

[KaseySnow]

Hmm, guess I can't edit the OP anymore, so here's a link to a video of her walking with better lighting that I took this morning:

 

[Kiki]

She has a broken or once broken and healed wrong foot.
This is NOT bumblefoot or mite problems.

How high is the roost inside the coop?

 

[KaseySnow]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. The roost is pretty high, it's over my head by at least two feet. There is a ramp they can use to walk up into the rafters, but most of them fly down, like they would in a tree, I guess. I'm trying to get extra bedding to put in their landing spot to help cushion the landing.

 

[Kiki]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. The roost is pretty high, it's over my head by at least two feet. They fly up into the rafters and then fly down, like they would in a tree, I guess. I'm trying to get extra bedding to put in their landing spot to help cushion the landing.

There is the problem.
The roost height.

You may want to talk o the owners and recommend they lower it or built a very very long and NOT steep ramp to it.

 

[KaseySnow]

Here's the coop if anyone wants to see. I've seen them roost on the lower rungs of the ladder, but even before the poop board was installed behind it they always seemed to prefer the top rung/rafters.

The roost rungs are angled pretty far back so they should have no issue sitting there without being pooped on/bothered by the other hens. But they just like going up the highest perch I guess.

Typically they hop up rung by rung at night to get up there, but in the morning they often fly down. I've pushed as much bedding as I can into their landing area and have asked the program director for more bedding to cushion it. They are looking at rebuilding the coop in the fall and I may suggest blocking the rafters somehow so they aren't tempted to get up in them.

 

[Kiki]

Chickens like to get up as high as possible to sleep...to stay away from predators...it's natural for them. Chicken wire can be installed to keep the off of the rafters.

 

[KaseySnow]

Just wanted to update you guys that we finally got the clippers in last week and my boyfriend and I have started clipping Macy Gray's toenails back. It's already seemed to help with her hobbling around.

Upon closer inspection, one of the nails was actually curling around and growing *into* her toe, so we think that was a large part of why she was putting little to no weight on that foot. She's been standing a lot more lately and using her bad leg to balance herself, so it's been really encouraging to see.

We're only going to trim her nails a little each week so we don't cut the quick and hurt her. Most things I've read online say it takes the quick about 7 days to recede enough to trim again, so that's what we're going by.

She's definitely using the leg to steady herself more and we've seen her standing a lot more than sitting, when it used to be that she was never *not* sitting. And the museum is no longer considering putting her down. Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[Kiki]

Great. I'm glad to hear things are finally looking better for her.

Thanks for the update.