NEED HELP.. what is wrong with her leg?!?

[spooklaw]

Has anyone ever seen this before? She is half the size of the other chickens. Never seen her hurt her leg or anything. Has gotten worse over the last few weeks... She can still walk but limps.

 

[azygous]

I would get this hen on an antibiotic asap. The foot looks close to being beyond fixing. Those toes appear to be dying, and they could auto amputate if the infection doesn't kill the hen first.

You may not have seen the hen injure the foot, but it appears staph pathogens have gotten in somehow.

You will need to do daily soaks in Epsom salts in water hot but not so hot as to burn your hand when you put it in the tub. Fifteen minutes twice a day for several days, then see what you have. Maybe you'll be able to see the points of infection and be able to clean them out.

It's called bumble foot by the way, a funny term for a very serious condition that can cripple and kill.

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you had freezing cold weather, where she could have stepped into water and gotten frostbitten on the one foot and leg? If not, I would suspect that she has a bad infection, such as staphylococcus from bumblefoot or from an injury. Look at the bottom of her footpads for a black scab. If not frostbite I would also recommmend antibiotics from a vet. Oral antibiotics are no longer avaialble in feed stores, but injectable ones like penicillin are still available. Vets have the best ones though.