Please help hen will not stand on one leg ??

[chickenmama109]

Hi I have a one year old hen and last night she was limping when she went to go roost today she is limping really bad and will not stand on her left foot I checked it over and there are no cuts or anything her nails are a little long but they are like that on both feet when I was filling her leg trying to find something that would make her limp when I got all the way down to the end of her leg close too her feathers She started too act like that was where it was hurting I think. I will get some photos but what could be wrong

 

[chickenmama109]

Ok I think she may have fell off the roost here is her foot i will get a better photo soon

I think it's really hurting her she does not want to walk and she just stands there or lays down

 

[rebrascora]

Her tail is down which suggests that she may be having problems laying an egg. That can sometimes press on the sciatic nerve and cause temporary lameness. She might be egg bound or have some other reproductive problem. Unfortunately red sex links are particularly prone to reproductive ailments. Feel her abdomen and vent for any swelling and compare to other flock mates. Does her vent look like it is pulsing/spasming?
A soak in a warm Epsom salts bath and a calcium supplement ( a Tums antacid tablet if you have nothing else) mixed into some peanut butter or scrambled egg should encourage her to eat it, should help her if that is the problem. It may be a soft shelled/shell less egg as those can be difficult to pass. You could gently insert a gloved lubricated finger into her vent an inch or so and see if you can feel an egg. Introducing plenty of lubricant with your finger may help her to shift it and the warm epsom salts bath is to help relax her and sooth the muscle tension, enabling her to pass it more easily.

 

[rebrascora]

If you bath her, make sure to dry her thoroughly afterwards unless you are in a very warm climate otherwise she will just tense up again. A hair drier on warm setting works well and most hens seem to enjoy it.

 

[chickenmama109]

Thanks I just too check on her and she in the aging spot but I think she fell off of the roost cuz there a a long stick that put in there best too the roost and and had flipped over some how I put is there for the chicks that live outside to sleep on but they don't use it what are some other signs of being egg bound I will go check her over like you said

 

[chickenmama109]

Ok so I went to check on her and she has layed an egg and is still limping and the foot that she will stand on looks like it's swelling but it's not the foot that is hurting her

 

[rebrascora]

Chickens are very agile. If she fell off the roost it is usually because there is something wrong with their balance.
Symptoms of being egg bound are hunched back, pulsing possibly distended vent, sometimes walking more upright or wide legged stance, looking unhappy and may be panting and most importantly, not being able to poop.... which is what kills them if they don't manage to shift the egg.

However there are other reproductive disorders that can cause a mass in the abdomen to press on a sciatic nerve or there is a viral disease called Marek's which is very common in younger adolescent chickens but less so in older birds which can cause inflammation of the sciatic nerve and affects the birds ability to balance and use the limb.

 

[chickenmama109]

thanks for all of your help i she did not just fall off the roost i think she may have got on to the stick i put in there and it flipped over i came in the coop and the stick was flipped but i cant say who flipped it why would her other foot be swelling if thats the only on she stand on what should i do

 

[rebrascora]

Ok so I went to check on her and she has layed an egg and is still limping and the foot that she will stand on looks like it's swelling but it's not the foot that is hurting her

Sorry I missed this post above.

Good to hear she laid an egg. It can take time for the "numbed" sciatic nerve to recover after it has been pinched but it may be there is something else at play. I don't know why her other foot would be swelling. Can you get a close up of it? Maybe she has strained it due to all her weight being on it. If she is not being very mobile a chicken sling might help to support her at least for some of the day. They can be made very simply from everyday items and pots with food and water clipped to the front of the box so that she can reach them. A third hole can be cut into the material in the illustration below her vent for poop to drop through. The fabric needs to be adjusted so that her feet can just touch the bottom but her weight is supported otherwise they sometimes panic if they cannot feel the ground. See below

 

[chickenmama109]

Sorry I missed this post above.

Good to hear she laid an egg. It can take time for the "numbed" sciatic nerve to recover after it has been pinched but it may be there is something else at play. I don't know why her other foot would be swelling. Can you get a close up of it? Maybe she has strained it due to all her weight being on it. If she is not being very mobile a chicken sling might help to support her at least for some of the day. They can be made very simply from everyday items and pots with food and water clipped to the front of the box so that she can reach them. A third hole can be cut into the material in the illustration below her vent for poop to drop through. The fabric needs to be adjusted so that her feet can just touch the bottom but her weight is supported otherwise they sometimes panic if they cannot feel the ground. See below
View attachment 1430559

I've never seen anything like that thanks I'm about to post a photo of the foot