Limping Guinea Hen

[Greeneys402]

my flock of 15 have been in their coop/run for the past few days due to excessive rain. I just let them out this morning to free range and one of my birds is limping.

1. How do I catch the guinea hen to look at it?!
2. What should I be looking for (if I were to catch him) ??
3. Could the muddy run have anything to do with him limping??

Hens were born 7.31.18, they are just over 5 months old.

 

[azygous]

How about shaking a jar of scratch grain, tossing a little on the ground, then make a (scant) trail of scratch leading into a narrow enclosure to make it easy to grab the hen?

This will also give you the opportunity to observe her walk and which leg is sore, how incapacitated it is, if she can put weight on it or not, and how sore it may be. Then you can pick her up and do an exam, comparing one leg to the other for swelling, redness, temperature difference, and if the scales on legs and feet are lifting up to indicate leg mites, and check feet for scabs, swelling and injuries.

Coincidentally, I discovered one of my chickens this morning could barely walk. First I examined her, and couldn't feel any swelling, and I observed she could put weight on the sore leg. No other obvious injuries or issues, so I gave her a baby aspirin and checked on her in a few hours.

She was limping still, but she was getting around easier that earlier. I'm about to go give her another baby aspirin. This helps tame the pain at the same time reducing inflammation.

 

[Shadowfire]

I would not recommend giving painkillers until the cause is determined, as the bird may put weight on the bad leg and injure it even more. If you think she's in great pain, put a cool rag on her foot to ease the pain but not completely diminish it and be sure to hold her as you do so. Have you checked for bumblefoot? Birds housed in muddy or dirty conditions are very prone to it. To check for bumblefoot, hold the bird on its side or back and look at the feet. There may be bumps on the top and brownish black plugs on the soles.

 

[getaclue]

When it goes back into the coop/run, this evening, grab it, and examine it.