Limping Chicken, but seems OK???

[Dook]

Hi I have a 4 year old mixed breed chook who sits around a lot.I noticed when she does stand or walk she limps. I have felt around her legs and checked her feet but she seems fine? She runs for food of a morning so she's not super bothered by it, but will choose to sit and eat and lay around all day if she can. I was wondering if there is such thing as maybe chicken arthritis? And if there is anything I can give her to help? Or if it sounds like something else is wrong? Thanks for your time!

 

[Eggcessive]

Look her feet and legs over for any swelling or lumps of the joints. Does she sit on her hocks or elbows? Has she been laying eggs. Is there any weight loss in her breast bone area, or does she have any swelling over her lower belly? Chickens can have bacterial and viral arthritis, but also suffer sprains from jumping off high roosts or roster injury. You can try caging her near the other chickens wirh food and water, so that she is still part of the flock.

 

[Dook]

Look her feet and legs over for any swelling or lumps of the joints. Does she sit on her hocks or elbows? Has she been laying eggs. Is there any weight loss in her breast bone area, or does she have any swelling over her lower belly? Chickens can have bacterial and viral arthritis, but also suffer sprains from jumping off high roosts or roster injury. You can try caging her near the other chickens wirh food and water, so that she is still part of the flock.

She has lost a little weight since I noticed the sitting around, but she's always been a light bird (part bantom) no swelling that I can find, sits on her elbows? Where the scales start/feathers end. And has not laid eggs for about 6 months (none of the chickens have) she seems generally healthy and happy. She's been like this a couple months, perch isn't very high and they have stairs to get in and out of the pen. I've started them all on extra vitamins (poultry stuff in powder form added to food) not sure what else could help?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would continue the vitamins in her water. There are also vitamins and mineral products that go in the feed, in case she has a mineral deficiency. Birds who are a few years old can suffer from reproductive problems such as internal laying, egg yolk peritonitis, and others which can cause laying or egg quality issues, problems walking, pain, fluid collecting in the abdomen, and infection. Many times it is hard to diagnose those problems until after death when doing a necropsy to examine abdominal contents.