Long term limp? Not an emergency but advice would be helpful (bit long, sorry!)

[HollyWoozle]

Hello chicken pals!

I posted back in late July about one of the ex-battery hens we had taken on, Gisela. She arrived on 25th July with a slight limp and by 26th July she was hopping and couldn't put that foot down. No obvious signs of injury, swelling or bruising anywhere and no signs of distress when leg manipulated. For the first week or so we kept her with the other ex-batts who arrived on the same day as they left her alone but then one really started to pick on her, so we put her in our 'hospital coop' which is a small coop and run within the main chicken run, meaning she can be surrounded by the others all day but separated by a fence. She only hopped for three weeks and then started to walk again, albeit it with a serious limp. We made her a bigger run for the daytime and each day we carry her or coax her from the 'hospital' to her separate space and back again at bedtime. She eats well, is one of the best layers and is very bright and healthy otherwise.

We are now nearly three months on and progress seems to have halted. She walks without hesitation (and will jump if she thinks you're carrying something tasty) but she still has quite a limp and will not sleep on a perch, just nestles in the bedding of her coop. She always seems desperate to get in with the flock but she is feisty and there have been some big battles when we have tested, plus we have a rooster.

My question is - is it possible she has just healed as much as she will and she'll just limp forever? In that case we may as well merge her back into the flock and hope for the best. I don't want to set her back if there is a chance she will heal completely but she has been separate for so long and it would be lovely for her to get back with the flock and have more space.

I will try to get some good video footage of her!

 

[Isaac 0]

Sorry, you haven't received a reply yet.

Could you post a video of her limping? To do that, upload it to a video platform like Youtube or Vimeo, and copy/paste the link here. Pictures of her leg would be good as well.

You said you checked the leg, including the bottom of her footpad for Bumblefoot correct (?)

Since she was a battery hen that does increase the likely hood that she has some type of progressive leg disorder such as arthritis, osteoarthritis, injury, bumblefoot, other conditions that may cause her to limp, reproductive problems, or due to decreased natural lighting in their pen area a deficiency in vitamin D. All some things I would consider.

The video would help a lot, but, just some basic care in case you haven't already implemented any of these since she developed the limp. I would lower the perches, sand them down smooth, ensure her pen area is soft padded, so there's not so much strain on her legs. If needed restrict her movement so she can't injure the leg as easily. B vitamins, specifically riboflavin (b2) can aid in leg injuries with chickens, so you may consider administering some of that. A poultry vitamin may be useful too for a short while.

If you think pain is a definite consider, you may try contacting an avian veterinarian in your area and ask about starting her on an NSAID such as Meloxicam, carprofen, or ketoprofen for the pain. While you can use aspirin, that's best for soft tissue damages where the injury recovers in a week or so. Long-term use of aspirin can cause problems such as GI tract upset.

There are several things that can cause this, so if a vet is not an option, treatment tends to consist of treating for each one, and providing supportive care along the way and waiting for improvements. Sadly, over the internet, we can't immediately tell you what she has, or when it will get better. This link has some good info on leg problems in poultry,

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

 

[HollyWoozle]

Thanks @Isaac 0! Really appreciate your reply. I actually just went for it and merged her with the flock on Saturday before I saw your reply and that has gone very well - our rooster intervened in all the initial fights and she has stayed close to him. I haven't seen her yet today (as she lives at my parents' place) but my Mum reports that her limp is perhaps a little worse but she seems fairly settled.

Here is a video of her from a few days ago, right before I let her mix with the others, and you can see it wasn't actually too bad. It looked really good that morning so maybe I was being a drama queen in my earlier post:

I don't have any photos of her leg unfortunately but could take some. There is nothing obvious to the foot or the leg and no signs of bumble foot. She seems to move around without any hesitation. She currently sleeps on straw bedding inside the small separate coop - there is a perch in there which is as low and smooth as I can make it, she could just step onto it, but she chooses just to sit in the bedding instead. Although she is now with the others in the day, she is accustomed to sleeping in that separate coop so we leave the door open and she goes in there at night so far (we then close the door at bedtime when we shut the others in).

We could encourage her to roost with the others now that they are all together but lifting her onto their perches at night time, but I wonder if that might aggravate her leg more. We have ramps up to those main perches.

I think and hope that her limp will not deteriorate further now that she is back with the others.

 

[Isaac 0]

Thanks for the video.

I do see a limp in her walking, but it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Honestly, I would just continue to offer her supportive care, and do some of the stuff I suggested, such as administering B vitamins, ensuring her play area is soft as it can be, soaking her legs in an Epsom salt bath when needed. I do have a few hens here that have limped slightly, and there is no evidence of injury, infection, etc.

You do have to consider the kind of effects of being in a cage 24/7 would have on a bird, and their muscular-skeletal structure overtime.

She does look like a pretty healthy bird, so please keep us posted on her condition.

 

[HollyWoozle]

Thank you! It looked a lot better that day, sometimes it's hard to assess when you see them everyday. Will just keep tabs on it and that's handy to know about the B vitamins, thanks!