This is Joy, a rescued battery cage hen who has stopped laying eggs due to age. Her appetite and disposition are excellent, but she is not able to bear any weight on her right leg. We think she may have been injured initially in a mad rush away from the scary humans when we first got her and her cage-mates from the factory farm (they would all scramble on top of one another when we'd go in to give water, etc.). Then, if it was injured, it got infected. The marks in the picture are from lancing and draining the fluid (clear) and pus (white). There is no smell. It is warm - sometimes hot - to the touch.
We've been giving her Epsom salt soaks and lancing, and using either iodine spray, Vetericyn, or essential oils in coconut oil (primarily lavender, peppermint, and helichrysum). She LOVES being blow-dried after her baths. She has become a cuddle bug. There is no way we would put her down as she has so much zest for life in her.
We also gave her a 6 day course of antibiotics in her water. Now she is on vitamin supplemented water. And layer ration. She is kept separate in the house, and let out daily for grass time.
I am still working on finding a vet who isn't strictly production (i.e. "cull only") in our area (west of Carstairs, Alberta, Canada). There are avian vets in Calgary but the 1-hour trip may prove too stressful for this little girl.
Any ideas/advice?
Thank you kindly,
Krista
