Limping 7 mo. Barred Rock Chicken

[denhenhouse]

The bird of yours that passed at the end of last year...did she walk like this too?

Nope never. She ran in circles and just stopped being able to walk at all.

 

[denhenhouse]

A few weeks ago my seven-year old Speckled Sussex hen Geobett was limping around exactly like your hen in the video. I suspected it was a sprained leg since she was perfectly fine the day before.

I gave her one baby aspirin twice a day for about a week, and it gradually healed. No residual limp, all good.

This is what I suspect happened to your hen. Try the baby aspirin, 81 grain tablet directly into the beak. It will relieve the pain some, and it will also help heal the tissue inflammation.

Thank you. I had read about baby aspirin I’ll look into picking some up.

 

[aart]

should I confine her a bit and encourage her to rest with easy access to food and water?

Yeppers!

If limp is really bothering them by inhibiting their normal activities too much, I will isolate them in a crate to 'force' rest for a day or two. Letting them out late in day, an hour before roost time, to give them a stretch and evaluate their mobility, then decide if they need another day and put them back in crate off roost after dark. Repeat stretch and eval the next day until they are better. Keep crate in coop so bird can remain 'with' the flock.

Even after rest period is not needed, it can take a good couple weeks for limp to be completely gone.

I use a crate like this broody breaker, but right on the ground and with a chunk of 2x4 tossed on the bottom as a 'roost'.

 

[Eggcessive]

It looks like she has sprained her leg or foot. She might do better with some aspirin and resting her leg. 325 mg per aspirin in each 8 ounces or 240 ml of water. Change twice a day. Or give her a baby aspirin 81 mg twice a day. I would prevent her from jumping off and onto roosts. She might feel better if you wrap her leg with some vet wrap, padded with cotton, but do not get too tight. Check it daily and replace it. But she might do better with rest and no support. Can you tell which joint it is, or if there is any swelling? The joint between the femur and the fibia/
tibia is the knee. The joint between the tibia and the metatarsus is the ankle.

 

[denhenhouse]

Thank you, everyone, for your advice. I've started her on aspirin and will just keep a close eye on her.

After a bit more observation, she's not really flexing her foot. It stays curled, similar to in the video and this new picture, never fully flexed. She's started putting more pressure on the metatarsus and elbow and you can see in the photo a small cut and scab as a result.
Isolating her stressed her out and she still seems excited when let out of the run to free range in the yard.

hoping the aspiring helps and this isn't something more serious.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you open her toes to straighten them? You can always make her a foot splint with her toes in a normal position. I might pad her hock as well to keep it from getting hurt. If she limits her own activity, that might work. Pages 22-25 have some splinting info on the lower leg and making a foot splint.:
https://theiwrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Duerr_Splinting_Manual_2010.pdf

 

[denhenhouse]

Can you open her toes to straighten them? You can always make her a foot splint with her toes in a normal position. I might pad her hock as well to keep it from getting hurt. If she limits her own activity, that might work. Pages 22-25 have some splinting info on the lower leg and making a foot splint.:
https://theiwrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Duerr_Splinting_Manual_2010.pdf

I can definitely open them. I wonder if a splint will help. i'll look into it this afternoon - thank you!

 

[denhenhouse]

Nearly two weeks later and no change. She still eats and drinks and makes her way around the coop and run, transitioning up and down the ramp herself. She has stopped laying, but it has been pretty cold/dark/grey these last few weeks and she is young so I'm not sure how reliable her laying should be.

I tried splinting, as well as these birdie booties, but it seems the issue is more her knee/elbow and not her foot. She's not extending it or flexing it like she does her other foot/leg.

Welcome any other advice, not sure what else I can do.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Nearly two weeks later and no change. She still eats and drinks and makes her way around the coop and run, transitioning up and down the ramp herself. She has stopped laying, but it has been pretty cold/dark/grey these last few weeks and she is young so I'm not sure how reliable her laying should be.

I tried splinting, as well as these birdie booties, but it seems the issue is more her knee/elbow and not her foot. She's not extending it or flexing it like she does her other foot/leg.

Welcome any other advice, not sure what else I can do.

Can you post a larger photo - especially of her joint?
Have you tried vitamin therapy that includes B2 (Riboflavin).

Any swelling or dislocation of the tendon that you can feel?

 

[denhenhouse]

Can you post a larger photo - especially of her joint?
Have you tried vitamin therapy that includes B2 (Riboflavin).

Any swelling or dislocation of the tendon that you can feel?

I've attached two pictures, one close up of the hock and another of her leg. Her hock does have scabs from her sitting and laying on it the past two weeks. The black spots in the second picture seem new to me.

After a bit more digging here and on a few other threads, I suspect its an Achilles tendon dislocation. Between her limited range of motion on the leg, as well as the flatness of her hock this feels right. I tried some of the remedies for that - stretching and attempting to get the tendon back in place - and we'll see. She seemed to enjoy the stretching, even almost falling asleep while I was doing it. After doing this for a few minutes she was able to straighten her leg but still wasn't putting pressure on it or using it. I'll keep this up for a few days and see how it goes.