Pale, somewhat swollen feet?

[Princess Jinya]

Found this chicken on the side of the road months ago - fell off a poultry truck on the way to her demise? Been keeping it ever since. Got her a banty hen for a friend, and then a white rooster. I don't know the breeds of any of these. Other chickens are fine. Limped for a while probably from the truck incident, but got better. Lays eggs, eating well, but last couple of weeks or so, noticed feet not as yellow as before. Also, seem puffy between toes. Sometimes walks only five or six steps and sits back down. Somewhat labored breathing, beak open often. Poop and eating habits seem normal. Dusted her with Sevin 2 wx ago for lice. Thought lice might be causing problems, but no better. Swollen parts seem vaguely pink. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM DOING WITH CHICKENS. I love them, but I feel like I will kill them by being stupid, because I have no idea what to do about poor Sweetie Pie. PLEASE BE VERY EXPLICIT if you answer, because I don't know the names of antibiotics (like I read about in this forum) or how to get them into a chicken. Also, how do you tame a rooster? The one I just got from a friend is being a real jerk.

 

[Judy]

First, on the rooster, read these:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2588-Roo_behavior

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=52537&p=2

They about say it all.

On the sick hen, pick her up and look at the bottom of her feet. If you see a scab or a black area, she may have bumblefoot, which is not hard to treat. Do a search here.

If not, I'm afraid I can't help you. She sounds like there may be an internal problem that you may not be able to do much with. These hens were bred to lay heavily for a year or two, which can be hard on them and lead to some internal problems that there really is no cure for.

You could try handling her for eggbound (meaning an egg could be stuck,) esp. if you know she has stopped laying. Go to index then FAQ and scroll down to some links to threads on eggbound.

 

[Princess Jinya]

Actually, the kinds of chickens we have around here on the Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware, Maryland and Virginia), are mostly for - gasp - eating, not laying. Does that make a difference? She's really huge, and she reminds me of my really huge Aunt Margie (RIP), who had swollen legs and diabetes, and she would only walk a few steps before she had to rest. Do you think it might just be obesity?
Thanx for the help and the rooster links! I will look at them right now.

 

[Judy]

Ah. Yes it could make a whole lot of difference. Could she be a Cornish X? Is she white? How much does she weigh? (A mature Cornish X will definitely be huge.) These could help us guess whether that is what she is (of course a pic would help, too.) If so, I am afraid she most likely has congestive heart failure. Not much can be done, I'm afraid. They were bred to live short lives, not even long enough to lay, and are prone to this sort of problem even at a very young age. If this is what is going on, your chicken was fortunate to make it this far. (Aunt Margie most likely also had congestive heart failure.) It's not so much that they are obese, but that they were bred to gain weight so fast that the weight overwhelms the heart's ability to pump blood.

Some on here have kept Cornish X alive way beyond their usual life span, primarily by limiting feed, as they tend to eat huge amounts of food. You could try a baby aspirin a day, and limiting her feed.

 

[Judy]

FYI: Cornish Cross (x), Cornish Rock, and Cornish XRock are basically all the same thing, the most common meat birds, actually a cross between a White Cornish and an White Rock. Here is one hatchery's ad for them:

https://secuservices.com/ideal/newideal/selectproduct.aspx?qty=1&ID=CRS&Product=399

 

[Princess Jinya]

Thanks for the info. Sad to think there's nothing I can do, but she will be happy for whatever is left of her time here.

 

[Judy]

You've already done a lot, given her much longer of a life than others of her breed have, and a much better one than many commercials provide.

 

[Judy]

Did you see this thread?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=216685