One of my ex-battery hens is not weight baring on one leg and limping. Could anyone offer advice please?
I'm struggling to get a vet (apparently there's a shortage in my area) and tbh previous vet trips have been completly pointless because they don't seem to know anything about birds! Even a Chicken Vet (UK website) recommended one hasn't really helped in the past.
She's a special hen ❤
4-4.5yrs old. Had her 3 years.
Normal weight for her, about 2.3kg. No obvious weight gain or loss.
The other 2 hens are fine and aren't bullying her. Sometimes they come sit with her. One has a pooey bum but always has one (had her 2y. Wormed several times. Seems happy).
Wormed a few weeks ago.
Had Beryl's friendly bacteria about 6 weeks ago.
No obvious mites.
Fully vaccinated as she's ex commercial.
Gone off lay this last month (4 weeks), prior I think she was laying every few days. We've had some hot wrather though.
Her poo seems a littly runnier than normal.
She seems to be loosing body feathers, similar to when they start moulting. But they usually moult in Sept/Oct.
She's bright, alert, interested and seems mentally to be quite normal. Still chats to the others and me.
This has been going on about 5 days with no signs of improvement. No obvious cuts or bleeding. I fully cleaned her foot and can't see anything so I don't think it's bumble foot.
It's not paralysed; she can grip with her toes and move the leg up and down.
I don't think it's broken; she can move it and will let me move it and poke around. It may be a little tender at the top where the leg goes into the body.
There's no high perches in the run and she hadn't been out the run prior to the limp.
3 days ago she stopped coming out the coop so I'm now getting her up once I'm up, so she's in the coop around 3 hours after the automatic door opens. She is climbing the ramp into the coop at night (I keep missing her going to bed to place her in). She has to use her wings and the foot barely touches the ground. Once out I put her next to the water bowl and offer food. She eats but doesn't drink very often. I'm not sure how often hens drink but it's warm here (in UK).
She will the lie down over to the side similar to when they sun bathe. She might move to near or under the bushes after a while. She maybe moves once or twice per day (apart from going in at night), but only a few feet. She's mostly sat down. I will offer food and water periodically.
Having had the first fox attack in 6 years of hen keeping about 6 weeks ago they've been put in a giant metal cage (not wire) run, with roof, and electric fence but come out if I'm in the garden and can keep watch. I'm unsure if the fox got her. It may have pulled some feathers out her fluffy bum. It got another one on the rear who escaped / the fox ran off as I was rapidly in the garden having heard the calls, but she died an hour later I think of shock
The hens were quite stressed and shocked after but mostly settled after about 2 weeks.
9 days ago the fox was back very early morning and pacing up and down the fence. The hens called waking me and I instantly ran out. It ran off but they were alarm calling about 30min getting the stress out their system.
6 days ago they called out (with their fox call). No animal in sight. I was ill with a vomit germ so my OH did a perimeter check. All hens were in their run. I only saw 2 hens walking and one was lying down under a bush. I don't know who was who. OH said they all looked ok. Nothing got in the run. The only thing that can maybe get in is rats. Cats, foxes and birds of prey definetly can't. OH wondered if a hen had stuck her head out the run and got zapped by the electric fence but I'm not sure if they can reach it.
OH says he's sure all the hens were walking around later that day.
The limp started the next day, or following one.
Since the original fox attack she has been a bit off. She was being a bit seperate from the others and her bum got a little pooey. I had wondered if she maybe had cancer starting because we've had many hens die of this and they start with a pooey bum and by withdrawing a bit. But it was just a ponder. It may have been the heat, loss of the hen that died, stress from fox, the sudden enclosure (previously fully free ranged and had just come out of bird flu lockdown which they don't like).
I'm undecided if she has water belly. If she does it's not massivly obvious like it has been in previous hens.
Any idea what's going on? If she had pulled muscles wouldn't there be some improvement now?
Is there any point me further trying to get a vet involved given their track record? Would me demanding an xray help? I presume it'd show fractures, tumors or infection (fluid)?
Anything I can do? Someone said one 75mg non dissovable aspirin tablet per day. Is that ok? I have human ibuprofen and paracetomol too if that's ok for birds? I'm unsure if she's in pain when she's off the foot lieing down because she seems fine. But I know they hide things.
Should I be worried about all the sitting down wrt her tummy always against the ground and I've not seen any preening, or dust bathing, but I'm not watching her all day.
Thanks
I'm struggling to get a vet (apparently there's a shortage in my area) and tbh previous vet trips have been completly pointless because they don't seem to know anything about birds! Even a Chicken Vet (UK website) recommended one hasn't really helped in the past.
She's a special hen ❤
4-4.5yrs old. Had her 3 years.
Normal weight for her, about 2.3kg. No obvious weight gain or loss.
The other 2 hens are fine and aren't bullying her. Sometimes they come sit with her. One has a pooey bum but always has one (had her 2y. Wormed several times. Seems happy).
Wormed a few weeks ago.
Had Beryl's friendly bacteria about 6 weeks ago.
No obvious mites.
Fully vaccinated as she's ex commercial.
Gone off lay this last month (4 weeks), prior I think she was laying every few days. We've had some hot wrather though.
Her poo seems a littly runnier than normal.
She seems to be loosing body feathers, similar to when they start moulting. But they usually moult in Sept/Oct.
She's bright, alert, interested and seems mentally to be quite normal. Still chats to the others and me.
This has been going on about 5 days with no signs of improvement. No obvious cuts or bleeding. I fully cleaned her foot and can't see anything so I don't think it's bumble foot.
It's not paralysed; she can grip with her toes and move the leg up and down.
I don't think it's broken; she can move it and will let me move it and poke around. It may be a little tender at the top where the leg goes into the body.
There's no high perches in the run and she hadn't been out the run prior to the limp.
3 days ago she stopped coming out the coop so I'm now getting her up once I'm up, so she's in the coop around 3 hours after the automatic door opens. She is climbing the ramp into the coop at night (I keep missing her going to bed to place her in). She has to use her wings and the foot barely touches the ground. Once out I put her next to the water bowl and offer food. She eats but doesn't drink very often. I'm not sure how often hens drink but it's warm here (in UK).
She will the lie down over to the side similar to when they sun bathe. She might move to near or under the bushes after a while. She maybe moves once or twice per day (apart from going in at night), but only a few feet. She's mostly sat down. I will offer food and water periodically.
Having had the first fox attack in 6 years of hen keeping about 6 weeks ago they've been put in a giant metal cage (not wire) run, with roof, and electric fence but come out if I'm in the garden and can keep watch. I'm unsure if the fox got her. It may have pulled some feathers out her fluffy bum. It got another one on the rear who escaped / the fox ran off as I was rapidly in the garden having heard the calls, but she died an hour later I think of shock
The hens were quite stressed and shocked after but mostly settled after about 2 weeks. 9 days ago the fox was back very early morning and pacing up and down the fence. The hens called waking me and I instantly ran out. It ran off but they were alarm calling about 30min getting the stress out their system.
6 days ago they called out (with their fox call). No animal in sight. I was ill with a vomit germ so my OH did a perimeter check. All hens were in their run. I only saw 2 hens walking and one was lying down under a bush. I don't know who was who. OH said they all looked ok. Nothing got in the run. The only thing that can maybe get in is rats. Cats, foxes and birds of prey definetly can't. OH wondered if a hen had stuck her head out the run and got zapped by the electric fence but I'm not sure if they can reach it.
OH says he's sure all the hens were walking around later that day.
The limp started the next day, or following one.
Since the original fox attack she has been a bit off. She was being a bit seperate from the others and her bum got a little pooey. I had wondered if she maybe had cancer starting because we've had many hens die of this and they start with a pooey bum and by withdrawing a bit. But it was just a ponder. It may have been the heat, loss of the hen that died, stress from fox, the sudden enclosure (previously fully free ranged and had just come out of bird flu lockdown which they don't like).
I'm undecided if she has water belly. If she does it's not massivly obvious like it has been in previous hens.
Any idea what's going on? If she had pulled muscles wouldn't there be some improvement now?
Is there any point me further trying to get a vet involved given their track record? Would me demanding an xray help? I presume it'd show fractures, tumors or infection (fluid)?
Anything I can do? Someone said one 75mg non dissovable aspirin tablet per day. Is that ok? I have human ibuprofen and paracetomol too if that's ok for birds? I'm unsure if she's in pain when she's off the foot lieing down because she seems fine. But I know they hide things.
Should I be worried about all the sitting down wrt her tummy always against the ground and I've not seen any preening, or dust bathing, but I'm not watching her all day.
Thanks
