Pressure Sore or Gout in L.O. Hen?

[cloverheart]

Hey, all! I've got a 3 year old, six pound Lavender Orpington hen that I noticed has a new foot problem today. I did my best to get good pictures, but the angle and lighting left much to be desired.

This is on her right foot; I also included a picture of her left foot as reference, but now I'm realizing there might be signs of an issue there, too.

She's not showing any signs of pain from this. The site is not hot, nor does she react when I feel it. There is no open wound, just scratchy skin. It is swollen, as I tried to show in the second picture. I haven't noticed her struggling to flex that joint.

What alerted me to it is that her toe is no longer laying flat when she stands, I added a picture to show this as well. Her nails have always been properly worn down, she's a very active girl.

This only developed in the last day or so. Everything else about her behavior seems normal to me. Even if it's nothing I can help at this time, I'd like to know so I can keep an eye on it. The research I've done about chicken-related foot issues hasn't really cleared anything up.

I can add more information about diet and environment if needed. Thank you all!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She's not showing any signs of pain from this. The site is not hot, nor does she react when I feel it. There is no open wound, just scratchy skin. It is swollen

Looks like some contact Dermatitis.

Keep the feet dry as best you can.

Monitor the foot, if it gets worse, then you may need to soak it daily in some epsom salts to see if that helps.

 

[cloverheart]

Looks like some contact Dermatitis.

Keep the feet dry as best you can.

Monitor the foot, if it gets worse, then you may need to soak it daily in some epsom salts to see if that helps.

Contact dermatitis, really? I never would have considered that, but it does look about right, despite the coloring (which is probably because of dirt and such). I'm on a break from classes right now, so I have time to tend to her during the day. I think I'll start soaking her foot right away, it must be itchy if it's CD.

Just epsom salt soak, do you think? Should I also put anything on it? I've got Vetericyn, but I don't know if that'll help much since it's not an open wound. I also have stuff like Vaseline, Aquaphor, coconut oil that could help lock in moisture, but since she's an outside hen I'd need to cover her foot with something, which I 1) don't have on hand, and 2) am unsure how I would do so in the first place.

Thank you so much for your insight! I lost her sister just a month ago so I'm a bit on edge, want to make sure she's taken care of.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'd just do the daily soak and see if that helps.