Limping pullet

[M.pineda]

I noticed today that my RIR pullet was limping and trying not to put wieght on her right leg. When I picked her up I noticed that foot was a little warmer and looked a tiny bit swollen compared to her her left foot. While they were out free ranging for the evening, I cleaned out their coop and run, and the dog run that their prefab coop sits in. I flipped their prefab coop (to prepare for winter) and stacked a couple hay bales that were in there on the backside of the coop.

I have soaked her feet in warm Epsom salt water and wiped what dirt she would let me off. These pictures are just after her soak. Shes eating fine, attitude is the same as usual, and she i didn't notice anything yesterday. Thoughts? Start of bumblefoot? She maybe jump on it wrong? Help! This is my first actual injury with my girls..

 

[coach723]

Sorry you didn't get a response yesterday. She may very well have landed wrong and has a sprain or strain, in which case it will resolve on it's own with a bit of time. There are a few places on the bottom of her feet that bear watching, I've circled them below. They don't look like bumblefoot now, but potentially could become it. Bumblefoot happens when they get a cut, scratch, splinter etc, in the foot and infection sets in. These are very small, so I would just use some veterycin spray or plain neosporin ointment on them daily, and they will probably resolve. If they get worse/larger then you would need to treat for bumblefoot.
If the soaking helps with her comfort you can do that daily.

 

[M.pineda]

thank you so much for getting back to me! When applying neosporin should I wrap her feet also? This is the first time I've ever had any issues with my chickens. Is there anything that I can do to help her with a sprain/strain? She's really favoring the right side today. She is hoping/flapping around to try and stay off of it. Should I pull her from the flock (I only have 3), no one seems to be picking on her? But maybe it will calm her down enough to heal?? Or maybe give it some more time with neosporin.

 

[coach723]

If you have a wire crate, you could crate her in the run with the rest of the chickens. Then she won't have to compete for food & water and may rest better. It will be less stressful if she's with the others. Some birds get very stressed when separated, so it's a judgement call based on what you see going on. If she is really struggling to stand then putting her in a chicken sling for periods may help her rest it. You will need to supervise to make sure she doesn't freak out and hurt herself worse (examples below). You can wrap the feet if you want, it will protect them some and help keep them clean, just don't wrap too tight. Co flex or vet wrap bandaging works best. The area's are very small, so they may be fine just treated and left open, as long as the feet stay relatively clean and dry. It it were my bird I would try just treating, and if in a week or so you don't see any improvement or it gets worse, then I'd consider maybe start wrapping.

 

[M.pineda]

thank you, I will definitely put ointment on her as soon as i get home, and I'll start with hand feeding her in my lap while the others free range so she can rest and go from there. thank you again for the pictures and suggestions