Limping hen

[Nmfensley94]

My year old leg horn has developed a limp. She’s won’t put any weight on her right leg but continues to walk/run around the coop if necessary. She doesn’t appear lethargic. I checked her foot thinking maybe it was bumble foot but didn’t notice any areas of concern. I did notice a black almost dry dirt like substance throughout her feathers, her skin doesn’t appear irritated. It could very well be dirt but I want to make sure there isn’t something else going on. Should I separate her from the rest? Any ideas on what’s causing the limp?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would look closely at her skin for any moving mites. Some mites only come out at night in the dark. You can soak her week in warm soapy water to clean them up and see if there are bumblefoot scabs on the toe or foot pad. It doesn’t look like frostbite. She may have sprained her leg or hip jumping from a roost. I would force her to rest the foot for at least a week or two, and no jumping or running.

 

[Nmfensley94]

I would look closely at her skin for any moving mites. Some mites only come out at night in the dark. You can soak her week in warm soapy water to clean them up and see if there are bumblefoot scabs on the toe or foot pad. It doesn’t look like frostbite. She may have sprained her leg or hip jumping from a roost. I would force her to rest the foot for at least a week or two, and no jumping or running.

I put her in a dog crate with food and water inside the coop; she has room to move around but should I let her out periodically?

 

[Eggcessive]

How large is the crate? How large is the inside of the coop? Most of us use a medium or large wire dog crate with food and water as a hospital coop or broody breaking coop. That is about all she needs. But use you judgement, if you want her to go into the run to mingle a bit. Just don’t let her do too much, or if any hens or rooster bothers her, put her back in the crate.

 

[Nmfensley94]

How large is the crate? How large is the inside of the coop? Most of us use a medium or large wire dog crate with food and water as a hospital coop or broody breaking coop. That is about all she needs. But use you judgement, if you want her to go into the run to mingle a bit. Just don’t let her do too much, or if any hens or rooster bothers her, put her back in the crate.

Our coop is pretty large, we switched her over to a larger dog crate so she has more room to move around. Thank you for the help!

 

[Farmgirl805]

Gonna take a chance at an old thread - I’m having this exact issue - I can put mine in a large crate inside our large coop no problem. Are there any nutrients/ vitamins I should give her? Also I believe my gal was injured at some point - there was some scuffling going on in the coop last night as she has decided she will be on the highest roost bar. But it could have happened when she was getting down, or sometime today while I was at work. She wasn’t like this yesterday. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Farmgirl805]

Here are some pictures of the front of her left foot, the one she is limping on

 

[Nmfensley94]

Gonna take a chance at an old thread - I’m having this exact issue - I can put mine in a large crate inside our large coop no problem. Are there any nutrients/ vitamins I should give her? Also I believe my gal was injured at some point - there was some scuffling going on in the coop last night as she has decided she will be on the highest roost bar. But it could have happened when she was getting down, or sometime today while I was at work. She wasn’t like this yesterday. Any help would be appreciated.

I’m not the most experienced chicken owner but I can tell you after keeping our hen in a large crate within the coop for three weeks she was back to her normal energetic self and free of any limp/discomfort. The only thing we changed diet wise during her isolation was a water supplement to support stress, FlockLeader Recover 911 from tractor supply. Hope this helps!