My hen won't walk on her leg, please help

[babsterh]

We've had bad weather today and the hens stayed in the coop, they usually free range. Once the weather cleared they all left the coop except my NJG. When I checked on her she seems very lethargic and won't walk on her right leg. When I picked her up I didn't see a visible injury. Does anyone have any advice for me? Should I bring her in the house to separate her from the other girls (we have a total of 7 hens). Thanks for your help

 

[AbbyTravers]

Hello I am sorry to hear about your hen. I have had the same experience with one of my hens. Does she tend to drag her leg or does she just hop on one leg? They say that a splint should help with something like this. Hope this helped!

 

[Eggcessive]

I probably would separate her in a cage for resting the leg, and bring her inside if you can. Do you think she might have injured herself or been attacked? Any other symptoms such as wheezing, runny nose or eyes? Can you see any swelling in the leg or swelling of the joints? Is she still lethargic? There are several diseases that cause weakness in a leg--mycoplasma synoviae, viral arthritis, Mareks disease, but it could be an injury. Give her some vitamins in her water, and watch her for any new symptoms.

 

[babsterh]

Thanks for your quick responses Abby and eggcessive, I really appreciate it. I have a small kennel that I brought in the house to separate her from the others. She has no other symptoms, no visible injury,she just won't walk on her foot. Since they were in the coop all day I know she wasn't attacked. Its almost like a sprained ankle without swelling. She's eating so I'm happy about that! I'll see how she is in the morning...I just might have to splint it. Thanks again, I'll give you an update tomorrow.

 

[AbbyTravers]

How's she doing?

 

[babsterh]

Thanks so much for checking on her...as it turns out its not her leg, she has a huge gash/open wound on her right thigh towards her chest. I was so focused on her leg along with her black feathers I just didn't see it. I'm concerned because its a very deep wound. I have no idea how it happened. The very strange thing is even though she is hurt she came out of the coop today. She sat under a juniper tree all day, but did eat. My husband helped me clean the wound a bit with Poultry Aid. She seems to enjoy being with the other girls so we decided to keep her in the coop. I'm hoping for the best.