- Jul 12, 2010
- 40
- 8
- 32
Hi everyone,
My favorite little hen Jenny has been hopping around on one leg for about 4-5 days now. I have checked her foot did not see any kind of wounds, I moved her toes she did not squirm or say anything. I even ran my fingers up her entire leg and lightly pulled on it to see if maybe it was out of place??? She does not have Bumble Foot...her toenails are nice and short. I am baffled and really upset.
Last month I opened up my coop and have been allowing my other birds to free roam the barn.....I do know that Jenny is definitely the bottom of the pecking order. She was hand reared inside my house all by herself. It is a long story but last year when a few of my hens hatched babies Jenny was the last hatched and got left behind when the hens went back into their nest box with the babies that were a few days older. I thought she was dead and when I picked her up she was cold but her little eyes opened and I could not believe it. I got her into a box and put a heat lamp on her and from that day on she has been my little sweetheart. She flies up on my shoulder or head everytime I come into the barn.....
I do have a hen that has 4 babies that are 2 months old. This mother hen is very mean to Jenny and I have noticed that the babies are following suit. Not sure if they will be hens or roosters but I CAN NOT have anymore roosters...I have 2 now and they are able to stay out of each others way.
The hen that has babies has taken over Jenny's Rabbit cage and she sleeps in it at night with the babies. Jenny has a perch on the outside of the cage. Here is the thing. She has not laid me an egg in days....she is not egg bound. She secludes herself if the other chickens are all out which makes me so sad. Her crest on top of her head is not standing straight up like it usually does....So I am at a loss right now.
I did take her cage out of the chicken room and put it in the barn isle. I also closed the mother hen and her babies up in the chicken room....so right now I have 2 other hens that are okay with Jenny out of the chicken room. So those 3 have had access to the entire barn and all the others are in a big chicken room. My hopes are that they all find themselves a place to perch at night. My husband put up a big tree with nice branches that start low and go high then he put up a nice long perch that goes right across the entire room. All the other birds except for one retreat back into the now opened up coop to perch at night. They are such creatures of habit......
I know this is all over the place but I am trying to explain my set up and figure out what to do with Jenny so her leg gets better and she is not stressed out. I hate to confind her to her cage she will not like that at all. I wish I knew what happened.....when I first noticed it and picked her up she wrapped her toes around my finger with her good foot and her other foot she did not. Her foot is warm and has circulation. I checked all her feet feathers no issues there.....could it be a sprain? She is eating and drinking....but her secluding herself worries me.
Also I notice she lays on her side favoring that foot.....what can I do to fix her???? She is not your average chicken she is much more.....very friendly usually very talkative....and loves to be in my lap being scratched.
I flipped her onto her back while looking at her foot and she fell alseep....is this normal??? Again so sorry you all had to read so much but I am nervous. I will be beside myself if she does not get better....I have seen her limp on that foot to keeping it up to her breast and hopping on her good foot.
Any advise I will greatly appreciate. I LOVE THIS FORUM~!!!!
My favorite little hen Jenny has been hopping around on one leg for about 4-5 days now. I have checked her foot did not see any kind of wounds, I moved her toes she did not squirm or say anything. I even ran my fingers up her entire leg and lightly pulled on it to see if maybe it was out of place??? She does not have Bumble Foot...her toenails are nice and short. I am baffled and really upset.
Last month I opened up my coop and have been allowing my other birds to free roam the barn.....I do know that Jenny is definitely the bottom of the pecking order. She was hand reared inside my house all by herself. It is a long story but last year when a few of my hens hatched babies Jenny was the last hatched and got left behind when the hens went back into their nest box with the babies that were a few days older. I thought she was dead and when I picked her up she was cold but her little eyes opened and I could not believe it. I got her into a box and put a heat lamp on her and from that day on she has been my little sweetheart. She flies up on my shoulder or head everytime I come into the barn.....
I do have a hen that has 4 babies that are 2 months old. This mother hen is very mean to Jenny and I have noticed that the babies are following suit. Not sure if they will be hens or roosters but I CAN NOT have anymore roosters...I have 2 now and they are able to stay out of each others way.
The hen that has babies has taken over Jenny's Rabbit cage and she sleeps in it at night with the babies. Jenny has a perch on the outside of the cage. Here is the thing. She has not laid me an egg in days....she is not egg bound. She secludes herself if the other chickens are all out which makes me so sad. Her crest on top of her head is not standing straight up like it usually does....So I am at a loss right now.
I did take her cage out of the chicken room and put it in the barn isle. I also closed the mother hen and her babies up in the chicken room....so right now I have 2 other hens that are okay with Jenny out of the chicken room. So those 3 have had access to the entire barn and all the others are in a big chicken room. My hopes are that they all find themselves a place to perch at night. My husband put up a big tree with nice branches that start low and go high then he put up a nice long perch that goes right across the entire room. All the other birds except for one retreat back into the now opened up coop to perch at night. They are such creatures of habit......
I know this is all over the place but I am trying to explain my set up and figure out what to do with Jenny so her leg gets better and she is not stressed out. I hate to confind her to her cage she will not like that at all. I wish I knew what happened.....when I first noticed it and picked her up she wrapped her toes around my finger with her good foot and her other foot she did not. Her foot is warm and has circulation. I checked all her feet feathers no issues there.....could it be a sprain? She is eating and drinking....but her secluding herself worries me.
Also I notice she lays on her side favoring that foot.....what can I do to fix her???? She is not your average chicken she is much more.....very friendly usually very talkative....and loves to be in my lap being scratched.
I flipped her onto her back while looking at her foot and she fell alseep....is this normal??? Again so sorry you all had to read so much but I am nervous. I will be beside myself if she does not get better....I have seen her limp on that foot to keeping it up to her breast and hopping on her good foot.
Any advise I will greatly appreciate. I LOVE THIS FORUM~!!!!
