My hen won't walk! Help please!

[mychookschick]

All of my hens appeared to be fine this morning... but I went out to give them table scraps at lunch and they all came running up to me except for one... Woody stood just under the trailer in the shade and when I walked up to her she tried to walk away but stopped by what loked like pain. Whenever she finds a shady place to stand she refuses to move unless you move her to a sunny spot but then she will walk back to another shady spot. She is standing but when she tries to move she looks like she is limping or maybe her "tail end hurts"... I have a few possible explainations but can't narrow it to any of them...

1) I found an extremely unusually large egg this morning and am wondering if she laid it and maybe stretched "things" a little too far so now she is sore but that is a lot of "ifs".
2) When I press down on her tail gently she walks forward one or two steps and then stops suddenly as if she is in pain but when I just urge her forward she refuses to move... could her tail hurt??? She hols it down and straight behind her...

She has been in the same exact place for almost two hours... any ideas on what might cause this???
She has absolutly NO energy and doesn't have any will to eat... even bread which is thier favorite!

 

[Crown Hill Farmette]

Any change Woody could actually be egg-bound, rather than having laid your big egg? How old is she? Will she eat treats for you? So may questions to help figure out what may be wrong. Any chance you could take her to a vet?
Anyhow, until you can figure out what is wrong with her you might want to separate her from the others and maybe bring her in to monitor her closely. If you can, check her over for any signs of injuries or wounds. If you can't find anything you might want to park her in a large box or a corner of your kitchen or bathroom, give her fresh water and food and just watch her for a bit. Best of luck! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you two.

 

[Lesa]

Check her over carefully. Look at the bottom of her feet, if you see a black spot, search bumble foot. If you have her alone in a cage/area you will be able to know what she is eating and drinking and to have a good look at her. Good luck- hope all turns out well.

 

[mychookschick]

I got eggs from all of my hens this morning so I don't think that that is it... she won't eat anything I've tried it all.

Welcome to all ideas!

Thanks I will go check her feet!

 

[mychookschick]

Thanks for all of your help, but Woody died this morning at about 7:30 Am Eastern time...

 

[calicokat]

I'm so sorry to hear that. It sounds like she was a favorite.