New member needs advice - limping chicken

Date sort Score sort
CyprusChicks

CyprusChicks

Hatching
5 Years
Joined
Apr 2, 2014
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
7
Location
Cyprus
Hello, I am new to the thread and I'm afraid I don't know very much about chickens. I have had 3 chickens (I think they are sex link - but not sure) since they were chicks. They are about 16 months old now.
One of the girls has been limping since yesterday. She is not in any sign if distress except she cannot hold weight on her right leg. She had what looked like tiny cut on one of her toes.
My question is should I take her to a vet or should i wait and see if it gets better? I have a vet I use for my cats in a nearby village - not sure how much he knows about chickens.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
400
 
Hello :frowI and Welcome To BYC! Sorry your hen is limping. If she were mine, I would check her over really well, of course starting with the legs. Bumblefoot often causes limping, look for any swelling or dark spots/ scabs especially on the bottom of the foot. Does there seem to be any swelling or heat or tenderness anywhere like she broke or tore something. If all I found was a small cut on a toe (check if you also broke a toe nail), if she were my bird, and she was acting fine otherwise, I would let her be...maybe just keep her separated where she couldn't do any jumping (like on and off a roost) for a day or two and see how she did. But if there is something else wrong with her, she stopped eating/drinking or she seemed to be getting worse, a vet visit might be a great idea. You might also try posting in the Emergencies forum about her https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures
 
Thank you Kelsie2290 for your quick reply:-)
I checked her over and she is fine over than a tiny little cut where the skin has turned up - no blood or broken toenails.
She is eating, drinking and laying as normal so I'll follow your advice and wait a few days to see how she goes.
Thanks again
1f414.png
 
Last edited:
So sorry to hear about that. (Is the roost she uses wide enough to put her whole foot on?)
 
Hi ThomasMcD,
The roost she uses is about 3cm wide (wide canes) so not big enough for her whole foot.

Should the roost be wide enough for her whole foot? Sorry but i don't know that much about chickens - have read a few books and read some articles online but that's all :-(
 
images


Welcome to BYC! So sorry about your hen.

Yes, if she has a puncture in her pad that is causing her to limp, she probably does have bumblefooot. (an internal infection in the pad) You may need to do surgery on the pad to get the puss ball out of there and keep it wrapped in vet wrap for a few weeks. I have really rocky pokey ground and am always dealing with bumblefoot.

Lots of great threads here on BYC on how to do a surgery on the pad. It is not that hard. But just make sure to always use sterile instruments and keep the foot bandaged for about a month after so no more dirt gets in there. Can cause a staph infection. Here is a thread you can read thru to give you some idea. There are so many of these threads. I just picked this one on the top of the pile, but you can search thru others as well....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/236649/bumblefoot-surgery-with-pics-and-how-to

Great to have you aboard and welcome to our flock!
 
Thank you TwoCrows,

I looked at the pictures of bumblefoot and I don't think it's that. There is a slight swelling on the underside of her toe (which wasn't there yesterday) but it's not red and there's no scab.
I called my vet but apparently they do not deal with chickens. They recommended I call the governments vetinary services. (I live in Cyprus, most people have chickens as livestock rather than pets)
I think I'll wait and see how she goes and I'll keep checking her foot for black scabs. I did hear of an avian specialist vet living on our island, so I may try and track him down.

Thanks again
 
Thank you for all the kind welcomes.

To update on Ruby, my limping chicken. She was doing better- not limping so much and I thought she was getting better but sadly I found her laying on the floor, dead:-( she was lying on her side and had no other sign of injury. The other two girls still look ok, so I don't think it was anything contagious.

She was my first chicken to pass and the children and I were quite upset. She was head chicken so I wait to see who will take her place as the lead chick.

We have 5 new chicks that will join our 2 red sex links, so they'll have company soon.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom