Michelle Lisenbee
In the Brooder
- Jun 13, 2017
- 5
- 0
- 25
I have five hens. Two Red Stars, two white silkies and one Polish. I adopted them from a friend when she moved out of state last summer and couldn't take them with her. They raised them from chicks, hatched in 2015. I keep them in a 4x12 chicken tractor, moving it every other day or so, and let them out to free range when I'm home, usually at least an hour or two a day when the weather is good. I feed them layer pellets, supplemented with occasional scratch grains and kitchen scraps.
They have been healthy and happy since I got them. The Red Stars laid 5-6 eggs a week each pretty consistently last summer and (as expected) declined over the winter. We still got an egg or two a week from each. The other hens laid more sporadically, but generally 3-4 Silkie eggs a week and one or two Polish.
About a month ago now, one of the Red Stars, Thelma, developed a limp. It was very slight at that point. I checked her feet and legs and didn't see anything unusual. No signs of infection, no obvious injury, nothing that looked like bumblefoot. Eating, drinking, pooping as usual.
After about a week with no improvement, I brought her inside, gave her an epsom salt soak. She really seemed to like it (even the blow drying afterward!
) but it didn't help the limp.
Since then, the limp has worsened. She is lying down in the coop yard, which is unusual for her. When I let them out into the backyard, she'll walk a bit, then lay down. After a while, she gets up, limps around some, then lies down again. She is still eating and drinking, still pooping, poop looks normal. Her comb was initially bright red and upright, but now looks a little duskier than that of our other Red Star, Louise. She has only laid two eggs since all this started, and I can't be 100% certain they were hers and not Louise's. Right after the limp started, I found egg "innards" but no shell in the nesting box. I thought maybe she might be egg bound, or perhaps have retained some shell shards....so being a nurse, I brought home some gloves and lube from work and carefully checked her vent. It looks clean and pink, and I did not feel an egg or shell shards inside.
When this first started, she was able to climb the ladder into the coop and get up on the roost just fine. Now I am noticing that she hesitates coming down the ladder and often uses her wings to help get up and down. Some nights, she ends up sleeping in the nesting boxes after a few failed attempts to get up on the roost. She also seems less perky than usual in the past week or so and perhaps may be a bit thinner. Although, as I said, she continues to eat, drink and poop. This week, I noticed she is losing feathers as if she is beginning a molt. Our other Red Star molted in December (?), but Thelma did not.
I'm continuing to check her feet and legs, and still don't see anything alarming. No sores, redness, swelling, no obvious broken bones. Her feet and legs move easily and don't seem to hurt when I manipulate them. Yesterday, I did notice a sore on her belly/chest that had scabbed over. I assume it's from lying down more than she used to. I cleaned it and applied some herbal healing salve.
All the other birds seem perfectly healthy and happy. Egg laying has not yet picked up for any of them...and since this is my first spring with them, I'm not sure when to expect that. The Red Stars are only laying an egg or two a week (total, not each), and I'm only getting one egg a day average from the other three. I've been using the same layer feed since I got them, so there's been no change in diet. No added stress that I'm aware of.
I'd love any thoughts....Thelma is my favorite in the flock. She's personable, friendly and curious and it's breaking my heart that I can't figure out what's going on and help her heal. Thanks everyone!
They have been healthy and happy since I got them. The Red Stars laid 5-6 eggs a week each pretty consistently last summer and (as expected) declined over the winter. We still got an egg or two a week from each. The other hens laid more sporadically, but generally 3-4 Silkie eggs a week and one or two Polish.
About a month ago now, one of the Red Stars, Thelma, developed a limp. It was very slight at that point. I checked her feet and legs and didn't see anything unusual. No signs of infection, no obvious injury, nothing that looked like bumblefoot. Eating, drinking, pooping as usual.
After about a week with no improvement, I brought her inside, gave her an epsom salt soak. She really seemed to like it (even the blow drying afterward!
Since then, the limp has worsened. She is lying down in the coop yard, which is unusual for her. When I let them out into the backyard, she'll walk a bit, then lay down. After a while, she gets up, limps around some, then lies down again. She is still eating and drinking, still pooping, poop looks normal. Her comb was initially bright red and upright, but now looks a little duskier than that of our other Red Star, Louise. She has only laid two eggs since all this started, and I can't be 100% certain they were hers and not Louise's. Right after the limp started, I found egg "innards" but no shell in the nesting box. I thought maybe she might be egg bound, or perhaps have retained some shell shards....so being a nurse, I brought home some gloves and lube from work and carefully checked her vent. It looks clean and pink, and I did not feel an egg or shell shards inside.
When this first started, she was able to climb the ladder into the coop and get up on the roost just fine. Now I am noticing that she hesitates coming down the ladder and often uses her wings to help get up and down. Some nights, she ends up sleeping in the nesting boxes after a few failed attempts to get up on the roost. She also seems less perky than usual in the past week or so and perhaps may be a bit thinner. Although, as I said, she continues to eat, drink and poop. This week, I noticed she is losing feathers as if she is beginning a molt. Our other Red Star molted in December (?), but Thelma did not.
I'm continuing to check her feet and legs, and still don't see anything alarming. No sores, redness, swelling, no obvious broken bones. Her feet and legs move easily and don't seem to hurt when I manipulate them. Yesterday, I did notice a sore on her belly/chest that had scabbed over. I assume it's from lying down more than she used to. I cleaned it and applied some herbal healing salve.
All the other birds seem perfectly healthy and happy. Egg laying has not yet picked up for any of them...and since this is my first spring with them, I'm not sure when to expect that. The Red Stars are only laying an egg or two a week (total, not each), and I'm only getting one egg a day average from the other three. I've been using the same layer feed since I got them, so there's been no change in diet. No added stress that I'm aware of.
I'd love any thoughts....Thelma is my favorite in the flock. She's personable, friendly and curious and it's breaking my heart that I can't figure out what's going on and help her heal. Thanks everyone!
