My hens are limping!!!Please help Please

[candrnyen]

I recently purchased 5 hens, RIRs. 2 of them when I got them home appeared to be limping now a 3rd. I had them quarantine and they seemed healthy except for the limp.
Could this be some type of disease????

Please help!! I don't want my other birds getting it.
They are out with the others now.
thanks
C J

 

[candrnyen]

Is anybody out there that can give me some type of advice on this????

 

[zatsdeb]

is there a chance that they may have hurt themselves on the move?
How long did you quarantine them? usually you keep them separate for a month I think.
I don't know about a disease that would make them limp, maybe someone here knows.

 

[keljonma]

I would keep any newly purchased birds in 30 day quarantine, to be on the safe side......

Well, hopefully, it isn't, but it could be bumblefoot, which is usually caused by a bacteria. It is infectious, so affected birds should be isolated. With bumblefoot, the foot or foot pad gets infected, gets swollen and red, and may feel hot to the touch within a matter of days.

Bumblefoot is preventable by making sure that all roosting areas are free from sharp objects (nails, screws, jagged edges, splinters). Also make sure that the roosts are not too high, as jumping down from too high a spot can injure the foot pad. Make sure there is enough litter on the floor to help cushion the birds when jumping down from the roosts.

Wearing disposable latex gloves, check your bird's feet. If the foot pads are swollen, but still soft, you can try soaking them in Epsom salts. Use the directions on the package for human feet soaking. The salts will flush toxins, reduce inflammation and relieve the pain without drying the skin. If you do not have Epsom salts, you can use hydrogen peroxide, but make sure you rinse the feet really well, because it will dry out your bird's skin.

If there is a scab on the bottom of the foot pads, you can lightly scrub it with antibacterial soap, then rinse and thoroughly dry the foot. Apply calendula or neosporin ointment. Bandage with a gauze pad and vetrap, wrapping the foot so that the toes are still free. Don't wrap tightly, or you'll cut off the blood circulation to the foot. Keep the foot clean and check 2 or 3 times a day. Change the bandage daily, applying more ointment when you do.

Keep the bird in an area where it cannot roost or jump down. Provide vitamin/electrolytes in the water and feed a small amount of yogurt w/active cultures daily for about a week.

Disinfect the roosts in your hen house and change the litter. After the foot is completely healed, it can go back to the hen house.

Good luck!

 

[candrnyen]

Thank you so much!!

 

[speckledhen]

Actually, bumblefoot is actually not transmitted bird to bird. It's a staff infection from an injury. I have to deal with it all the time here from wood piles and old burn piles from a former owner of my property-glass bottles broken everywhere.

It may be partially preventable, IF your birds stay in the pen and never encounter a sharp piece of fencing, but no matter how perfect every surface in my coop is, they always get it from freeranging. I have a ladder roost so no one has to jump from it, but they jump from everywhere else on the property. The heavy birds get it the worst.

Chickens can also sprain their legs, when being chased by higher ranking birds, etc. Mine do that from time to time, but that usually heals up quickly.

 

[sammi]

they might also need some Pen-G procaine to treat the infection systemically along with antibiotic ointment.
keep the birds confined to a small area with soft bedding with food and water close by so they can rest the foot.