Leghorn Hen Limping Losing, Losing Weight, Pale Comb

[rebrascora]

Can you give us a bit of history about your flock?
Did you buy them as chicks from a hatchery or a breeder or both?
Have you added any new birds in the past few months?
Do you have any roosters? If so, how old?
What do you feed them? Layer or flock raiser or grower?
I appreciate that you say she was laying every day.... is that still the case? If not, when was the last time she laid an egg?
Have you checked her leg over for any indication of injury.... does she show any pain reflex when you manipulate the bad leg? Is it the same temperature as the other leg? Can the toes grip your finger?
Can you post some video of her limping.... you need to download it to You Tube or Vimeo and then post a link to it.

 

[Janey1129]

Watch "Leghorn limping" on YouTube

 

[Janey1129]

 

[Janey1129]

@Janey1129 , was she vaccinated for Marek's? Can you post some poop pictures? Can you post a video of her walking?

Hi, no she was both vaccinated I don't think. My dad got her from a local pet store where he lives.

 

[WVduckchick]

Looks more hip related to me.

 

[Janey1129]

Can you give us a bit of history about your flock?
Did you buy them as chicks from a hatchery or a breeder or both?
Have you added any new birds in the past few months?
Do you have any roosters? If so, how old?
What do you feed them? Layer or flock raiser or grower?
I appreciate that you say she was laying every day.... is that still the case? If not, when was the last time she laid an egg?
Have you checked her leg over for any indication of injury.... does she show any pain reflex when you manipulate the bad leg? Is it the same temperature as the other leg? Can the toes grip your finger?
Can you post some video of her limping.... you need to download it to You Tube or Vimeo and then post a link to it.

Hi, Thank you for your response. I have had her since she was three weeks old. My dad had her since she was a day old. I have 2 black sex links the same age that I've had the same amount of time. He got them from a local pet feed store where he lives. I did add five chicks to my flock on August 30th of this year. They are all doing well. The new little chicks were vaccinated. I got them online. I only ordered females, but I think one of the little newer chickens is a rooster. That is the only one. I am feeding the leghorn layer feed. She still lays an egg every day. I have examined her legs and manipulated them and they feel the same and she doesn't mind at all. She doesn't pull back at all. I just posted a video and a picture of her poop.

 

[Janey1129]

Another fecal photo just now

 

[rebrascora]

Well the good news is that it appears to be an injury and not neurological.... ie, she is actively favouring her left leg in a very calculated manner and avoiding putting weight on the right, which suggests that it is painful to weight bear. She may be losing a little weight if she is in pain.... chickens will hide pain as much as possible.... but to be honest 4lbs would be quite a reasonable weight for a leghorn, so I wouldn't be excessively worried about weight loss at this stage. Always a good idea to monitor a bird that is giving cause for concern. If she is continuing to lay then her body condition must be reasonable... they will stop laying when their body reserves are getting low.
I was wondering if she had been injured by a young male mating her but clearly your little man is too young for that yet.
If you have thoroughly checked the sole of her foot for any sign of bumblefoot and come up negative, then it suggests a sprain or other injury higher up the leg. Hopefully it will come right with time. I would give her extra protein treats like scrambled egg and meat or meal worms a few times a week just to ensure that she is getting all the nutrients she needs to heal, but it will probably just take time.


Edited to change left and right legs as I got it wrong the first time!

 

[Janey1129]

Well the good news is that it appears to be an injury and not neurological.... ie, she is actively favouring her left leg in a very calculated manner and avoiding putting weight on the right, which suggests that it is painful to weight bear. She may be losing a little weight if she is in pain.... chickens will hide pain as much as possible.... but to be honest 4lbs would be quite a reasonable weight for a leghorn, so I wouldn't be excessively worried about weight loss at this stage. Always a good idea to monitor a bird that is giving cause for concern. If she is continuing to lay then her body condition must be reasonable... they will stop laying when their body reserves are getting low.
I was wondering if she had been injured by a young male mating her but clearly your little man is too young for that yet.
If you have thoroughly checked the sole of her foot for any sign of bumblefoot and come up negative, then it suggests a sprain or other injury higher up the leg. Hopefully it will come right with time. I would give her extra protein treats like scrambled egg and meat or meal worms a few times a week just to ensure that she is getting all the nutrients she needs to heal, but it will probably just take time.


Edited to change left and right legs as I got it wrong the first time!

Thank you. I will do just that. It is cold here in Rhode Island and snowing. Should I keep her inside my house in a cage while I monitor her and nurse her back to health, or is that crazy? I just worry another hen may see she is not well and maybe they will attack her or something. She is the leader of the flock but I think it could still happen.

 

[rebrascora]

It depends on how much space they have and if the snow is confining them to the coop. The problem with keeping her indoors is that she will acclimatise to the warmth and find it hard to cope when you put her back out. Also, it may take another 2-3 weeks to improve and then she may have integration issues going back into the flock. If she has already had this problem for a couple of weeks and the other girls haven't bothered her, then she should continue to hold her own with them, but keep an eye on things and give her her special treats separate from the others, which should keep her strength up.
How high are your roosts? Just wondering if the reason she hasn't showed improvement is because she is jumping down off a high roost each day and reinjuring it. Perhaps put her in a nest box or similar overnight so that she can rest it without trying to balance on a roost each night.